Stitches
by JakeTheCat
Summary: Their enemies have been destroyed so what's next for the DWMA? Maka's still working on making Soul a Death Scythe, Black*Star still needs to surpass god and Kid needs to prepare to take his father's place. And now that Marie's gone, what about Stein?
1. Return to Death City: A New Teacher?

**Hello everyone! JakeTheCat here with my first _Soul Eater_ fic ever! My friend showed it to me and I absolutely fell in love with it and all of the characters... except for maybe Black*Star because he's kind of annoying... Well since this is the first chapter I don't really have much to say except that I hope you like it!**

Chapter 1

The sun was just beginning to rise in Death City, starting to paint the drab city with color. At the city's edge where it was still dark, a young woman stood staring, contemplating on whether or not to keep going. She'd come all the way here, but now she wasn't sure if she could continue going.

A cat sat at her feet, looking in the same direction with narrow, green eyes. It was completely white, except for the tip of its tail and ears, which were black. His tail was oddly shaped, jagged like a bolt of lightning. His head turned to look up at the woman after a while of staring.

"We're here," the cat said, "Might as well keep going on."

The woman didn't bother to look back at him.

"I guess so," she replied, "Do you want me to carry you, Heretsu?"

The cat looked at her annoyed and stood up, flicking his tail at her.

"I have four legs, I can handle myself," he retorted.

With that, he walked forward, his tail and head held high. The woman rolled her eyes and followed after him, thinking of many things to say but deciding to keep them to herself.

Even when the sun caught the pair, no color was revealed. The woman wore a white blouse and black slacks, not a trace of color. Even her shoulder length hair was pitch-black. The only trace of color was in her bright blue eyes, though they were well hidden behind her bangs.

After a while of walking, Heretsu grew impatient.

"I thought you said this place wouldn't take long to find," he complained.

"I said we're looking for a hotel and it probably wouldn't take long to find. Excuse me for not knowing the layout of this place. It's been over a decade since I've been here."

She looked around to see if she could see a hotel sign. Just a lot of houses. Did they get rid of all their hotels? This was a pretty popular place so one would think there'd be a decent amount of places to stay for travelers.

Heretsu leapt up onto the woman's shoulder, perching himself carefully as she continued to walk.

"Why don't we just go by the DWMA?" he asked, "I'm sure Lord Death still remembers you."

"What makes you think he'd want to see me?" she asked bitterly.

"You're the infamous Evar Elektra! Why wouldn't he want to see you?"

She looked at him exasperated, pushing him off her shoulder and sending him to the cold ground.

"Shut up, Heretsu," she sighed, "You sound more incompetent than usual."

He made an irritated meowing noise and sulked forward, his tail hanging low.

"Let's just find somewhere to stay and get something to eat, I'm starving."

"Fine, just be quiet. I don't want people here thinking I'm a witch because I have a talking cat with me."

"It's not my fault…"

"You're the idiot who dumped a sorceress."

"That's not fair! I didn't know she was one! And she was psycho! I had to dump her, if not I'd be dead!"

"Instead you're a cute, little kitty."

She smirked at this. That was the last thing he wanted to be called. He glared at her as she picked him up and pet his head.

"If we weren't related," he grumbled, "I'd claw your eyes out."

"Calm down," Evar sighed, "Look, I think I see a hotel sign ahead. We'll get a room and get you something to eat."

"Finally!"

* * *

><p>Professor Stein lit his cigarette and took a drag before heading off to work at DWMA. It was still early, but he was usually the first one there besides Lord Death himself. He kind of enjoyed being in the large, empty building, having all the space to himself. It was relaxing in a way to know there was so much room for him to think.<p>

After the dilemma with the madness, he didn't really like being in small spaces alone. He feared that the insanity would return or, even worse, Medusa.

He took another drag and continued walking toward the academy. At first he'd tried quitting smoking, but it failed rather quickly. The habit had stuck with him too long for him to get rid of. It'd just be a part of him from now on.

A cat suddenly darted in front of him, almost causing him to trip. He managed not to fall, but did step on the creature's tail in the process. A loud screech came from its mouth and the white hair on its back rose to make it look like it'd grown in size.

"You should watch where you're going," the man said as he removed his foot.

The cat just hissed and continued running in the direction it'd been heading. Stein noticed that the cat's tail looked a little jagged. Had he done that by stepping on it? Perhaps it was just a genetic mutation or something. It'd be interesting to dissect and find out.

"Heretsu!" a voice called, "Damn cat, I told you not to run off!"

Stein watched as a woman ran after the cat, looking more irritated than worried for the animal. Perhaps it was a nuisance and she was getting tired with it. Pets seemed to be too much trouble. They always needed so much attention. That was why he lived alone.

Well, Marie had been living with him for a while. He had to admit that it was nice having someone in that big house besides himself, even if she did put too many girly touches all over the place. But she'd resigned from teaching at the academy and had gone back to see over Oceania. At first, he'd slightly missed her, but now he was readjusted to his previous lifestyle where it was just him.

Back to the way things were supposed to be.

* * *

><p>"<em>Soul! <em>Get up, breakfast is ready!"

The teenager groaned and pulled the covers over his head. He didn't want to go to school today and if he got up to eat, he'd have no choice. So starvation would be a small sacrifice. Yet as he tried to fall back asleep, he felt like something was weighing down on him… literally. He rolled onto his back and opened his eyes.

Boobs. Instantaneous nosebleed.

"Play with me, Soul!" Blair whined.

"Not now," he groaned, "You'd think I'd be used to this by now…"

Blair pouted and pulled him out of bed, hugging his face to her chest. His nose bled even more as she squeezed him tight and continued to beg for him to play with her. Maka suddenly came in and without saying a word, grabbed Soul by the back of his shirt and pulled his towards the kitchen, Blair following and complaining.

"Come on, Soul," she sighed, "We're going to be late if we don't hurry up."

"Well it wasn't like I asked for Blair to be my alarm clock," he grumbled.

"But I want to play!"

Despite the arguing, the three of them managed to get through breakfast without killing each other. Blair was disappointed when the two left for school, but decided she'd go find someone else to play with somewhere in the city. There were lots of people who'd love to play with her.

Meanwhile, Maka and Soul had made it to the DWMA and were enduring Spirit's class. It used to be Miss Marie's, but since she left they hadn't found a replacement, so Maka's father had decided to step in. The class mainly consisted of him trying to impress Maka, Soul insulting him and then getting in trouble for it. Today was no exception.

As the two of them went at it, Tsubaki looked over at Maka sympathetically. It had to be hard for her with the two guys closest to her (or one of them trying to be close) arguing in front of the whole class. And she was just trying to read a book in peace.

"You okay, Maka?" she asked.

"Yeah," the girl sighed, "I just wish these two came with a mute button."

Tsubaki smiled at her. She was a good friend to have around since they were pretty similar, and it was nice having her around when she had to deal with her Meister.

"Yahoo!" a familiar voice cried, "That's right, Soul! Tell him!"

Both girls looked at each other and groaned. Great. Now Black*Star had joined in. This would not end well. With those three arguing, the room would probably be in pretty bad shape soon.

The door to the classroom opened, revealing a familiar mad scientist. Everyone besides those who were bickering looked at him as he turned the dial in his head.

"Excuse me," Stein said, "But Lord Death has made a complaint about the noise. So I recommend shutting up, Spirit, and leave those kids alone."

Spirit, Soul and Black*Star all looked over surprised. Lord Death had to be in a bad mood or something. Then again, the lord wasn't a fan of Spirit teaching in the first place. He was his Death Scythe and was meant to stay with him in the Death Room in case of an emergency. After dealing with Medusa, Arachnophobia and Asura, anything could happen.

"But Stein!" Spirit cried, "They started it! I'm the adult here! I'm supposed to be in charge not them!"

"You're not doing a very good job at it then, are you?"

The redhead glared at him. Why did he always have to antagonize him like that? Stein just turned around and walked back out the door, reaching up to turn his screw again.

They really needed to find a new teacher. Spirit wasn't very popular with the kids, particularly his daughter and her friends. The two of them didn't have a very close father-daughter relationship and probably never would.

Stein walked out onto one of academy's balcony, reaching into his lab coat to find a pack of cigarettes. His class didn't start until Spirit's ended, so he had some time before he needed to prepare.

As he lit it, he noticed a cat sitting on the ledge, looking at him with annoyed green eyes. Its ears were back, revealing that they were black unlike the rest of its white body. He recognized that it was the cat whose tail he'd stepped on earlier. That jagged tail was unforgettable.

"What are you doing here?" he asked the feline.

The cat just narrowed its eyes.

"Did you come to get revenge?"

For a moment, it looked like the cat smirked, but Stein couldn't be sure.

He suddenly looked up to see someone flying down towards him. The figure landed not far from him, turning to look at him. It was the woman who'd been running after the cat. As he looked at her, he felt like he'd seen her before. She was vaguely familiar somehow.

"I know you."

Stein looked over to see that the cat had transformed into a man about his age, wearing all white. His hair was white as well, with several black streaks through it.

"Hello, Sparky," Stein said, "It's been a while."

"_Don't call me Sparky, you walking horror show!"_

The woman looked between the two of them confused. Heretsu knew this guy? And why was he calling him Sparky?

"What brings you here?" Stein asked as he took a drag, "I thought you wanted nothing to do with this place."

"I don't," Heretsu hissed, "I wasn't planning on visiting the academy, but when you stepped on me, I was hoping to get you back."

"Still as reckless as ever, I see."

Heretsu's eyes narrowed as he leapt off the railing, walking closer to Stein.

"Um, what's going on here?" the woman asked.

Stein turned the dial again, causing Heretsu to cringe. That had always been so creepy.

"How rude," he said, "I don't think we've met. I'm Franken Stein, a professor here at DWMA."

"Evar Elektra," she replied.

Stein raised a brow.

"You must be Sparky's little sister then."

"_Stop calling me that!"_

"And you must be the guy he always said gave him nightmares," she shot back.

"Can you blame him?" Stein answered slyly.

Evar stepped back as the professor gave her a devilish grin. There was no doubt about it. This guy was a freak.

"You joined the DWMA after your brother finished," he continued, "You dropped out before we were ever in the same class."

"You sound disappointed about that," she pointed out.

"Of course. Your brother bragged about you often. But I don't see why. You couldn't even handle the DWMA so how good could you be?"

Evar clenched her teeth angrily. Stein watched as her arm lit up, turning into what looked like a bolt of lightning.

"I seem to have upset you," he said, "Well as much as I would like to continue this, I have a class I need to teach."

With that he turned around and started to head back inside. Heretsu growled and ran at him, swinging his fist at his back. The professor jumped up and flipped behind him. When he landed, he stayed crouched and swung his leg at the temperamental boy, knocking his legs out from beneath him. Though just as the man started to fall, he turned back into a cat, landing on all four feet.

"What's with the cat?" Stein asked as he stood up, still holding the cigarette between his fingers.

"He's kind of an idiot," Evar muttered.

"Shut up, Evar!" Heretsu hissed.

Stein took another drag as the cat sulked over to his sister.

"Hey, what's going on here?"

All three looked to see that Lord Death himself looking at them, clearly surprised. The Reaper looked and noticed just who was there.

"Why Miss Elektra!" he said, "I didn't know you were here! Our new teacher has finally arrived!"

**So that's it for now. Um, I'm kind of in love with Stein so there will be a lot of him. As well as OC's as you've already noticed. But don't worry, I haven't forgotten about our main trio! They'll be more into it as time goes on of course.**

**I still don't have much to say except to _please _review. That's how I judge my stories: more reviews=better stories (at least for my fics). If you liked it then please review! It means so much to me! Thanks! I have lots of ideas so I should be updating soon! See you then!**


	2. Moving In: An Unwanted Pest?

**Hello again everyone! I'm a little bummed that I only got two reviews, but that's how most stories start off, am I right? Hopefully this chapter will give you the urge to review more! And if not, well, then I'll have to take your soul. Enjoy!**

Chapter 2

Maka cringed at what she was watching. Her father, Soul and Black*Star were still going, threatening to get physical by their language.

"Sometimes I wonder if I'm adopted," she mumbled to herself.

Almost as if the timing was planned, the bell rang. Maka and the rest of the class instantly sprung to their feet in order to get away from the craziness that was taking place. But, unfortunately for them, the door opened and Lord Death floated inside. Everyone instantly sat back down in their seats, even Spirit went to his desk.

"Hey, kids!" Lord Death said, "If you could just stay seated for a moment, I'd like you to meet your new teacher."

All the students looked hopeful. Anyone was better than Spirit at this rate.

Just then a woman appeared from behind Lord Death, her heels clicking against the floor. She didn't look like anything special: a white blouse, black pants and black hair. Still, Maka couldn't help but notice that most of the guys were staring at her. Or maybe it was her chest they were staring at.

"Class, this is Miss Elektra," Lord Death explained, "She was an excellent student when she attended the DWMA, but couldn't graduate due to some personal circumstances. Now that she's back in Death City, she's going to be your new teacher, so be nice."

"Hello," the woman said in a friendly tone, "I'm looking forward to teaching you all. I'll be starting next week, so you have a couple more days with Death Scythe."

The whole class groaned, but Spirit seemed unfazed. He slid over to Evar and smirked.

"Maybe we should teach together, Elektra," he said flirtatiously.

"No thanks," she answered flatly.

"Class dismissed," Lord Death said as Spirit hung his head in defeat.

The kids got up and gathered their stuff, greeting Miss Elektra on their way out. Maka avoided looking at her dad, who was in the corner depressed from the rejection. When she got to her future teacher she gave her a friendly smile.

"Hi, Miss Elektra, I'm Maka Albarn," she said politely, "I'm looking forward to your class."

"Oh, that's very sweet of you, Maka," the woman replied, "I just hope I'm a good teacher for you guys. I'm kind of new to this."

"I think anyone is better than who we currently have."

Spirit's jaw dropped in horror.

"Maka!" he wailed.

The girl quickly dismissed herself and power walked out the door as the Death Scythe chased after her, whining about love or something.

"Is he always like that?" Evar asked as she turned to Lord Death.

"Unfortunately, yes. But don't worry, he's my personal Weapon so he'll mostly be in the Death Room during school hours. Also, I forgot to ask where you're staying in Death City so I can give you the directions on how to get here."

"I don't actually have a place right now… when you called and asked me to teach, I assumed I'd just stay in a hotel."

"Are you sure?" he asked, "I could ask one of our staff members to take you in until you find somewhere."

"No that's al–"

"Stein!"

Both turned to see Stein walking down the hall toward his classroom. He glanced over at them and came to a halt.

"Yes, Lord Death?" he asked.

"Since Marie has left, I'm going to have Miss Elektra stay with you until she finds a suitable place to stay!"

Stein didn't really seem to have a visible reaction, though Evar didn't try to hide her horror. Live with Stein? After what her brother had told about her, she didn't think that was the best idea.

"You don't have a problem with that, do you Stein?" Lord Death asked.

The professor glanced over at Evar, observing her soul. The woman fidgeted and he blinked, looking back to Lord Death.

"That's fine," he answered, "She can come meet me after class ends and I'll show her the way."

Evar's eyebrow twitched. This. Couldn't. Be. Happening. There was no way in hell she was going to go live with some creepy professor who she'd just met.

"Lord Death, really it's fine, I can just stay at a hotel–"

"Nonsense. This academy is like family and now you're a part of it."

"Can't I be the estranged aunt no one ever sees?"

"Don't be silly, I'm sure you'll get along just fine here, Evar."

"That's not exactly what I meant…"

"Well I have a class to teach," Stein interjected, "I'll see you afterwards, Miss Elektra."

Evar looked distressed as he walked away, twisting the screw in his head.

* * *

><p>"There is <em>no way in hell <em>I am staying with that psycho," Heretsu hissed.

"Then you can go stay on the street and I'll stay with him," Evar sighed, "He may be weird but at least it's a place to sleep."

"_And leave you alone with him? Are you out of your mind! He'll cut you up into little pieces!"_

"You're lack of faith in me is saddening, Sparky," a sudden voice said.

Both the woman and cat jumped and whirled around to see Stein standing there on the balcony with them, looking a bit smug.

"_Stein, you creep, what the hell?"_ Heretsu screeched.

"Miss Elektra didn't come to my classroom after the bell rang," he answered calmly, "So I went to find her… I forgot you were here."

"I was one of the best Meisters this academy has ever seen! How could you forget about me?"

"Easily."

Evar couldn't help but giggle a little. Her brother had always been so brash and it was kind of entertaining to see somebody battle him with wit.

"And if you don't want to stay at my house, you don't have to worry," Stein continued, "I didn't offer for you to stay. Evar was the only one I invited."

"No way, jackass!"

"You know, Maka and Soul have a talking cat… you could stay with them and keep the feline company."

Heretsu hesitated for a moment, looking at Stein with hard green eyes.

"Is it a girl?" he asked.

"I believe so," Stein replied.

The cat beamed and turned to his sister.

"I'm sure you'll be fine!" he said enthusiastically, "Have fun now! Bye!"

Before Evar could say goodbye, he'd zoomed off into the school, meowing Soul and Maka's names. The woman put a hand over her face in embarrassment.

"He hasn't had a girlfriend since the whole turned-into-a-cat incident," she explained, "I guess I can't really blame him… but do they really have a talking cat?"

"Yes, actually, but I was only joking when I said he should stay with them… well at least that keeps him out of my hair."

"Yeah, he's kind of a handful…"

Stein gave her a small smile, certainly surprising her. She didn't think he was capable of emotion judging by his appearance. This guy was just full of surprises.

* * *

><p>"<em>Meow! Me-ak-ow!"<em>

Tsubaki turned around to see where the strange sound was coming from. Her eyes lit up when she saw an adorable white cat running her direction, meowing for no apparent reason. She knelt down and picked up the cat once it reached her, smiling as she looked at it.

"Oh, look!" she gasped, "A little cat! You're so cute!"

The cat just stared down, looking at what seemed to be her chest. Maybe he didn't like looking people in the eye.

"You don't have a collar," she said sadly, "So… you must be a stray!"

"Meow?"

"Oh! You can come live with me and Black*Star!"

"Meow!"

The girl snuggled the cat and patted its head. She noticed its black ears and the tip of its zigzag tail.

"That's so cute, it looks like a little lightning bolt."

_Exactly, _thought Heretsu, _Lightning is manly and cool just like me, even if I am in this body._

"That's it!" Tsubaki squeaked, "We'll call you Sparky!"

If Heretsu could have face-palmed, he would've. Why? Why was the world so cruel to him? Stein seemed to be following him all over the place with this Sparky nonsense. That was it. He had to tell this girl that he was a person and not a cat.

"You're so sweet, I love it," the girl sighed, "I just want to hug you all day."

Heretsu was pressed close to the girl's large chest and squeezed against it. Good lord! Had he been a man his nose would've started bleeding.

_Okay… I can deal with this._

* * *

><p>"Crona? Are you awake?"<p>

Maka entered the apartment quietly, not wanting to disturb her friend in case he hadn't woken up. She looked over and saw him sitting on the couch, petting Blair in her cat form. He looked up surprised and gave her a nervous smile.

"Hi Maka," he said, "And Soul. How was school?"

"Same as always," Soul sighed as he closed the door, "Nothing exciting."

"Really? I kind of miss it there…"

Crona had betrayed the DWMA after serving Medusa, though he became very guilty for lying to his only friends. He then helped in his mother Medusa's defeat, risking his own life to save Maka's. Though he was exiled in order to accomplish, Lord Death rewarded his bravery by allowing him to return to Death City. For the time being, he was staying with Maka and Soul, but he wasn't sure if he could stay there forever. It was already a tight squeeze; he just took up more space.

Maka set her stuff down and went over to sit beside him, Soul lagging behind her.

"Lord Death said you can come back next week," she said hopefully, "And we got a new teacher. She'll start teaching when you come back. She seems really nice."

The boy looked at her surprised. He'd been really upset when Miss Marie left; he'd really started to feel like she cared about him. He wasn't sure if he could handle going back to the school and having to deal with a new teacher.

"Maybe I shouldn't go back," he said wearily.

"Don't worry about it, Crona," Soul said, "You've got a lot of friends there and there's nothing to worry about now that Medusa's gone."

"He's right," Maka added, "Both of us are your friends, and you have Tsubaki, Black*Star, Kid, Liz and Patty…"

"I guess you're right…" Crona mumbled.

There was suddenly a poof as Blair turned into her human form, wearing her usual skimpy outfit that always gave Soul a nosebleed, today not being an exception. She meowed and pressed Crona against her, rubbing his face against her chest.

"He can't leave me!" she whined, "Then I'll have no one to play with!"

Crona groaned and fought against her, not knowing how to deal with this situation. Maka managed to pull him away from her, sending the cat a dirty look.

"There are people all over the city who can play with you, Blair," she sighed as Crona trembled against her, "And it's not like we're at school all day."

"It feels like it," the cat groaned, "You shouldn't go so often, it's boring."

"Maybe you should go to the school with us," Soul suggested sarcastically.

"Yeah, right," Maka snapped.

Ragnarok suddenly popped out of Crona's back, pounding on the boy's head.

"Who cares about school? I'm starving! Make dinner already!"

"Ow, Ragnarok you're hurting me!"

"Then tell your little friend to hurry up and make me some food!"

"Fine," Maka sighed, "I'll make dinner, just stop bullying Crona."

The Demon Sword reluctantly rested his head on top of Crona's, mumbling something about stupid friendship and whatnot.

"Ooh, can we have fish?" Blair asked, leaping over Crona to land in Soul's lap, giving him a nosebleed.

"We'll have whatever is in the fridge," Maka hissed as she watched the blood spew from her Weapon's nose.

_He's such a boy, _she thought.

"Take your time, Maka," Crona called softly, "There's no hurry. I'm sure whatever you make will be delicious."

"Shut up, dumbass!" Ragnarok screeched, "Of course there's a hurry! You may be a stick and eat nothing, but some of us actually need food to survive!"

"Knock it off, Ragnarok," Maka snapped as the Demon Sword began to beat up his partner again.

"_Play with me, Soul!" _Blair whined as she pressed his face to her chest.

_Why does everything seem to be so chaotic lately?_

* * *

><p>"Kid, can we hurry up?" Liz groaned, "Why are we in the library in the first place? It's not like we have any tests or anything coming up."<p>

The Reaper ignored her and continued scanning the shelves. Sure, Asura had been defeated, but it'd seemed almost too easy. What if something else was to happen? He wanted to be prepared for anything and that meant research.

"I just want to find some information about kishins," Kid explained, "After Asura, you never know what might happen."

"Maybe, but you should relax," Liz answered, "You need to take a break."

"Yeah!" Patty chimed in, "Like a vacation or something! Can we, Kid? Please?"

"Not now, girls, this is serious. What if there's even more that Father hasn't told me?"

"You're his son, I think he trusts you," Liz muttered.

"Yeah, Kid, don't worry so much!" Patty added, "Even if something does happen, we'll beat him easily, just like last time!"

"That wasn't exactly easy," Kid and Liz sighed together.

Patty just tilted her head confused.

"Let's just go home," Liz said, "I'm hungry and we can always come back tomorrow or something. I don't think the world will end by then."

Kid sighed and looked down in defeat.

"I guess you're right," he admitted, "But…"

"But what?"

"_These books are crooked!"_

Liz face-palmed while Patty just erupted with laughter as Kid frantically tried to straighten the books. The older sister grabbed Kid by the back of shirt and started to pull him out of the library.

"Let's _go, _Kid, the librarian will fix them," she sighed.

"_No! No, I have to fix it! I can't let there be asymmetrical garbage in my father's workplace! No! This is an abomination! I won't allow it! Stop! No!"_

* * *

><p>"What is it?" Black*Star asked.<p>

He wrinkled his nose at the ball of fluff Tsubaki held in her arms.

"It's a cat, silly," she said, "I found it by the academy. Don't you think we should keep it?"

The assassin looked at the cat some more. It was so cute and adorable, totally not manly.

"No way, it's weak," Black*Star declared, "I can't have a fluffy ball of girly-ness around or else people will think I'm lame."

Tsubaki looked heartbroken for a moment, turning her head down to look at Sparky. The cat made a growling sound in its throat as it watched the blue-haired boy.

Girly? Weak? How dare he! This kid was going to have to pay.

Suddenly, the feline jumped from Tsubaki's arms and began mauling the boy, hissing and scratching at him as he screamed in surprise.

"Get off, stupid cat! Damn! Ow, that hurt! Knock it off!"

The cat finally leapt off and went to sit by Tsubaki, rubbing his face against her legs affectionately.

"Are you alright, Black*Star?" Tsubaki asked.

The boy was covered in scratches and blood, his face beginning to turn red with anger as he looked at the cat. Why did it seem so smug? It was almost like it was a person and knew exactly what it had just done.

"Of course I'm alright," the boy cried, "I'm the one and only Black*Star! I can never be defeated, especially not by some stupid animal!"

After he was mauled again, the boy just laid crumpled on the floor, twitching slightly as Tsubaki looked at him worriedly. The cat just meowed innocently and rubbed its face against the girl's legs again.

"Fine," Black*Star grumbled, "The stupid cat… can stay… but away from me."

"Oh, I knew you'd come around!" Tsubaki cried happily, "I named him Sparky because of his tail, isn't it cute? I think it fits him perfectly. And don't worry, I'm sure the two of you will learn to get along eventually. He's really a sweetheart after all."

The assassin turned his head and looked at the cat, which was licking his paw absentmindedly.

_There's something weird about that cat,_ Black*Star thought, _I don't know what it is, but I'll figure it out. I won't let some dumb cat beat me._

"Oh, I'll need to get him some food," Tsubaki said, "But we're having fish tonight so I guess he can just have some of that. I better get started on dinner right away!"

The girl hurried into the kitchen to prepare the food before Black*Star got too hungry.

Meanwhile, the boy just stared at the cat and the cat stared back. There was a clear feeling of mutual dislike between the two of them. But how could the cat dislike him already? It was just a cat. It wasn't like it had known what he'd said.

"I won't let you beat me," Black*Star grunted.

Heretsu just meowed innocently and sauntered into the kitchen with Tsubaki, rubbing his face against her legs yet again. He wound between the two, purring loudly.

"Isn't he cute?" Tsubaki cooed, "I told you he's nice. Maybe he was abused by a man or something so he's afraid of boys. But I'm sure he'll get used to it, don't worry. It just might take a little bit of time."

Black*Star snorted and looked away. What was with this cat? Maybe she was right and it just didn't like men. He'd heard of that happening with animals before. Then again, the cat had a right to be afraid of him. He was the almighty Black*Star! Everyone trembled in fear before him and a cat was no exception! He was the man who even Lord Death himself feared!

* * *

><p>"I don't know why," Lord Death said as he looked into his mirror in the Death Room, "But I have the sudden urge to hit Black*Star."<p>

**First off, that last line is from a very funny abridged version of _Soul Eater _that I just had to put in. Plus, it's a funny show so we need all the humor we can get!**

**So if you liked it, please review! It really means a lot to me! The more reviews, the faster I'll update this thing. Thanks and see you soon!**


	3. Crona Returns to DWMA: A New Feeling?

**Hi everyone! Wow I need to come up with better intro's... I'll figure that out later. Anyway! I'm kind of sad that the only reviews I've gotten are from people I know personally; I love them, but I want to hear the rest of your guys' opinions too! So, here's the next chapter!**

Chapter 3

"Good morning, class."

All eyes turned to see the new teacher come in the classroom, closing the door behind her. She looked a lot like she had the last time Maka saw her: white on top and black on bottom. Not a very colorful person.

"For those of you who didn't meet me last week, I'm Miss Elektra," she said, "I'll be your new teacher."

Maka glanced over to Crona to see how he was handling the new teacher. He'd been nervous coming back in general, but he didn't look any more worried than usual. That was a good sign.

"And just so we're clear," Miss Elektra added, "Professor Stein told me all about each of you, so don't expect to get away with anything just because I'm new. Now, let's take attendance."

"Great, she's boring," Soul muttered beside Maka, "And if Stein told her about us, we're all screwed."

"Only if you misbehave and don't listen," Maka snapped back.

"Maka Albarn."

"Here!"

The teacher looked up and smiled. It was the girl she'd spoken to that first day. She seemed like a very bright girl. There wouldn't be any problems with her.

"Soul Evans."

"Yeah."

Hmm. Stein had told her that this was Maka's Weapon partner. He seemed very laid-back and arrogant. But he didn't seem to be a bad person. She'd have to adjust to him.

"Tsubaki Nakatsukasa."

"Present!"

This one reminded her of Maka. Very calm in nature, always aiming to please. There wasn't an ounce of evil inside her, that was for sure.

"Black–"

"Yahoo! The star is here!"

Oh goodness. This one wouldn't be an easy one to handle. Arrogant, self-centered and egoistic. And a loud troublemaker.

"Liz Thompson. Oh, and Patty Thompson."

"Here."

"Here!"

They seemed nice enough. One was calm and cynical while the other was hyper and full of energy. Judging by their souls, they didn't seem very similar for being sisters.

"Death the Kid?"

"Present."

So this was Lord Death's son. Hmm. He seemed very serious and calculating, unlike his father. Those stripes in his hair were quite interesting as well. She wondered if Lord Death had them as well.

After taking the attendance of the rest of the class, Evar set the clipboard down on her desk and sat down on it, crossing her ankles.

"So," she sighed, "Since I don't know any of you personally, I'd like you to take a test to see where you all are academically."

There was a unanimous groan as she grabbed a stack of papers off the desk.

"It's just some review," Evar said as she hopped off the desk, "Hopefully it shouldn't be that hard for any of you."

That didn't stop the kids from groaning. A test was a test, whether it was easy or not. No one wanted to take one.

Once the tests were handed out, Evar went back and sat at her desk, watching to make sure no one cheated. Stein had helped her make the test and he agreed that all the students should know the material. Since they were testing, she decided to think to her self for a little while.

She wondered what had happened to Heretsu. It had been a few days since she'd seen him and she had no idea where he was staying. He could've gone to Maka like Stein said, but she didn't want to just flat out ask the girl if she'd suddenly obtained a cat. That would be kind of suspicious.

And then there were her own living arrangements. She'd been terrified originally upon seeing Stein's laboratory, covered with stitches and arrows as if he'd experimented on the building. It was exactly the same on the inside, only making it creepier. Though once she'd settled in over the weekend and added her stuff to her room, she'd started to adjust.

Stein wasn't such a bad guy either. Sure, he was a little out there, but he'd never been mean to her once. He respected her privacy, but paid attention to her when she asked for help. When she told him she wanted to make a practice test, he volunteered himself to help; she didn't have to ask. Despite his rough appearance, he was actually quite kind to her.

"Miss Elektra, I'm done."

The woman glanced up to see that it was Ox Ford who'd spoken, looking slightly arrogant about it as well. Stein had warned her that he was a good student, but could be kind of an idiot in certain situations.

"Just wait for the rest of the class to finish," she said.

Ox nodded and turned his head around slightly, looking at Maka. The girl gave him a dirty look before returning to her test.

The whole class eventually managed to finish just in time for the bell to ring.

"Pass your papers forward," Evar said, "Oh and, Crona, could you stay after class for a minute?"

The boy looked at the teacher frightened. Why was he being called out? Did he do something wrong? He wasn't sure if he knew how to deal with this.

"She probably just wants to introduce herself," Maka said as she put a hand on his shoulder, "I'll wait for you out in the hall, okay?"

"O-okay…"

All the students gathered their things and left for the next classroom, except for a nervous Crona, who walked towards the teacher's desk. She was setting the tests down in a neat stack on the desk and he wasn't sure whether or not to say something. Luckily for him, the woman turned her head and gave him a warm smile before he could decide.

"Hello, Crona," she said.

"H-h-hi…" the boy said meekly, "Am I i-in trouble?"

"Oh no, of course not. I just wanted to talk to you since you weren't here when I originally met the class."

Crona relaxed just slightly. At least he wasn't in trouble. But what if she knew about everything about Medusa and how he'd been exiled? Would she treat him differently?

"Lord Death told me about your situation," Evar explained, "And he told me that you're currently staying with Maka and Soul."

"Y-y-yes, I am."

The woman smiled at him.

"They both seem to get along well with you," she continued, "I'm glad. Lord Death also told me that you were very close to the woman who used to teach here, Miss Marie."

Crona shivered a little bit. He really did care about Miss Marie. After what he'd done to her and Professor Stein… he'd felt awful. But she'd forgiven him. She'd always been so nice, even to a person like him.

"I just want to let you know that you can always talk to me, Crona," Evar said, "I know I'm new here, but you can trust me, I promise. I used to be a regular school teacher, so I want to make sure all my students know that they can talk to me."

Crona's eyes widened. She was so nice. Just like Miss Marie.

"If you ever need anything, come to me, okay?" she said with a smile.

"O-o-okay… th-thank you, Miss Elektra."

"No problem. Now you should probably get going; I think Maka's waiting for you."

They both looked to the door and could see Maka standing on the other side of the hall, talking to Soul and Tsubaki.

Crona quickly started to make a beeline toward Maka, his first friend who he trusted completely. However, he came to a halt at the door and turned his head. Miss Elektra had sat at her desk and started to look at the pile of tests on her desk.

"B-bye," he murmured.

The woman looked up from the papers and gave him a quick smile.

"Bye, Crona. See you tomorrow."

Above the DWMA, a young witch hovered on her broom, scanning the school grounds. All of the students had left, so it wouldn't be long before the teachers came out. That was what she was waiting for.

A few bodies slowly exited after a few moments, but not the one this witch was looking for. She lowered herself slightly in order to get a better view. With her soul protect on, it wasn't like she had anything to worry about.

And there she was.

A devilish smile lit the witch's face as she moved even farther down, trying to get the best look possible. There was no doubt that it was Evar.

"She looks just as boring as always," the witch muttered.

Suddenly, something new caught her eye. A person came out of the academy and she waited for them to catch up.

"What do we have here?" the witch breathed.

She looked as hard as she could, but still couldn't see much from her safe distance. All she could see was a lab coat. This person was also very tall and built like a man, so it was safe to assume it was a male accompanying her.

"Who's your little friend, Evar?" the witch hissed.

She continued to watch as the man took something from Evar's arms. It looked like a stack of papers, but she couldn't be sure.

"What a gentleman," the witch spat.

Her eyes didn't leave them until they disappeared from her sight, going farther into the city. Once they were gone, she floated back up, beginning to braid her long, white hair.

"I won't let this go, Evar," she said in an unusually sweet voice, "I haven't forgotten what you did to me. I am the witch Kage and I'll never forget. I won't let you get away."

* * *

><p>Stein shrugged himself out of his lab coat and tossed it lazily on top of his bed. He took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose where the spectacles rested.<p>

The professor had stayed up late, doing some research on witches and kishins. He'd thought he'd known everything about both, but after Asura and Medusa, he wanted to make sure nothing like that ever happened again.

Just thinking about Medusa put Stein on edge.

But they'd defeated her and there wasn't anything left to worry about. He needed to let go.

The scientist quickly left the room, trying to think of a way to distract himself. If he didn't the madness could return and then…

"Stein?"

He caught his breath and looked over to see Evar sitting on the couch in the living room, papers littered all over the place. She had a cup of tea in her hands and was looking at the professor worriedly. It was only then that he realized her eyes were the only source of color on her body. They were icicle blue, a complete contrast against the rest of her.

"Are you okay, Stein?" she asked.

The man looked down and noticed he was still holding his glasses.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said as he put the spectacles back on, "I was just going to get something to drink before bed."

"Oh… ok."

She returned to the mess of papers in front of her, rubbing her temples. This was so difficult! How did teachers do this so easily? There were so many papers and so many students to remember. It was impossible.

Stein noticed her frustration and sat beside her, looking for a test that hadn't been graded. Evar looked over at him surprised.

"I thought you were going to sleep," she said.

"If I did that, you'd never finish grading these papers."

"But then I won't know which students stand where."

"We can organize them by grade. Now let's hurry up so we can finish."

He instantly looked at the paper, scanning for errors. Evar smiled weakly and looked down at the paper she held. Well that was nice of him. Why had Heretsu said such bad things about him? Maybe he'd grown up and matured since he'd seen the professor. Yes, that had to be it. There was no possible way that the Stein he spoke of was anything like the one sitting beside her now.

"There," Stein sighed, "I think that's all of them. How many more do you have, Evar?"

He looked over to find Evar lying down on the couch asleep, her grading pen held between her teeth. She was certainly tired. It couldn't be easy to fall asleep with a pen in your mouth.

Stein simply took all the papers and began to organize them by grade, placing them in a neat stack on the coffee table once he'd finished. Luckily, she'd graded all the papers on her side so he didn't have to deal with any more.

The professor stood up, an unexpected yawn escaping his mouth. It was late, so he couldn't exactly blame the woman for falling asleep. Still, she didn't look very comfortable.

Without questioning his motives, Stein took the pen out of Evar's mouth and lifted her off the couch as carefully as possible in order not to disturb her. He carried her to the spare room where she was staying and set her down on the bed. Funny. He hadn't been in here since she'd moved in.

It looked like his house, though there were a few unfamiliar things scattered throughout the room. A few pictures on the walls, a rug, an alarm clock. Just little things. It wasn't like he could be mad at her for trying to make the place seem more homey.

He began to walk back to the door, but paused just before closing it on her. His head turned back to see her sleeping peacefully on the bed.

"Goodnight, Evar," he said quietly.

The door shut behind him and the woman opened her blue eyes, sitting up in the bed and looking towards the room's entrance. For some reason, she felt like a giddy little schoolgirl. A schoolgirl? She shook her head and got under the covers, resting on the pillow. A small smile snuck onto her lips.

"Goodnight, Stein."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Heretsu: Oh, come on, I wasn't even in this chapter!<strong>_

_**Stein: This story isn't about you, Sparky. You should probably come to terms with that soon.**_

_**Heretsu: Hey! Where did you come from?**_

_**Stein: This happens at the end of all the episodes of Soul Eater.**_

_**Hertsu: But I'm not in the show!**_

_**Stein: Tell that to the author.**_

_**Heretsu: Whatever. Just stay away from my sister, freak!**_

_**Stein: That's a bit of a hollow threat coming from a cat.**_

_**Heretsu: Shut up!** _

* * *

><p><strong>Hello again! Did you guys like my random ending? I think I'm going to try to do that for all the chapters now since they're titled in the same way all the episodes of the show were. I thought it'd just be a fun way to liven things up... and possibly convince you to review. Now you don't have to review every chapter, but I'm kind of a review whore, I'll admit it. So, pretty please review this fic if you liked it! I even had a dream that more people reviewed it to be honest... now that's dedication, am I right? Well, see you next time!<strong>


	4. Mixed Signals: The Students' Plan?

**So, I still don't have a cool thing tos ay at the beginning of my chapters... lame. Still! Just because my commentary is lacking doesn't mean you shouldn't read this chapter (wow that was alot of negatives in one sentence). Also, please review everyone! It means a lot, so thanks!**

Chapter 4

Just as she finished cleaning up her desk, Evar heard Lord Death's unmistakable voice enter the room.

"Hey, hey, Elektra," he said cheerfully, "How has your first week been?"

"It's been very good, Lord Death," she replied, "Many of these kids have great potential."

"Yes, I don't think there are many students who aren't destined for good things. But that's not what I came here to talk about."

The woman looked at him a little surprised. Normally when Lord Death wanted to speak, he had the person called to the Death Room. What was he doing in her classroom?

"Don't worry it's nothing bad," he said with a wave of his enlarged hand, "I just wanted to tell you that I'd like you to be Stein's Weapon for now. He doesn't have one and it only makes sense since you're staying with him."

Evar was certainly caught off guard. She hadn't expected to be assigned a Meister now that she was a teacher at the academy. Perhaps it was just a precaution.

"Oh, that's fine," she said, "I agree, it makes perfect sense."

"Yes, I just thought I'd let you know. This also means that if I ever send Stein out on a mission, you are to go with him unless told otherwise, got it?"

"Yes, Lord Death. Is there anything else?"

"Um, nope! That's it! See ya later!"

Evar laughed quietly to herself as Lord Death left the room. It was funny to think that the god of death was the biggest goofball she knew. What was this world coming to?

"Psst… Evar! Psst!"

Evar started to turn around and was instantly face to face with her brother, who'd somehow managed to turn into his human form.

"Heretsu!"

He thought she was going to smack him, but instead she wrapped his arms around him and gave him a huge hug. The man squirmed uneasily and pushed her away.

"What's with the whole touchy-feely thing?" he asked as he brushed off his shirt.

"I haven't seen you in over a week!" she gasped, "Where have you been?"

Heretsu sat on the edge of her desk and raised his arms in the air, stretching and giving a big sigh.

"I found a place," he said smugly, "With an endless supply of milk and yarn…"

"Wow, you're pathetic."

"Shut up. Not only that, but the babe who's taking care of me isn't bad eye candy either."

"You are such a perv! That poor woman…"

"Actually it's a girl, I think she goes here, but her roommate is real–"

"_You nasty pig!"_

The man was suddenly crashing into the wall on the other side of the room, groaning as he slid down. Evar brought her fist in and glared at her brother. Sure he'd always been a creeper when it came to women, but a teenager? He was thirty!

"What the hell was that for?" Heretsu grumbled as he stood up.

"For being a total creep. Now what girl is this?"

"Tsubaki… Ow, my head! That really hurt, Evar."

Well at least now Evar understood why he was so happy where he was at. Though she found it hard for him to be able to get along with Black*Star. Maybe that would be his test to see how well he could handle staying there.

"You can stay there," she said, "But don't ever look at Tsubaki after or during a shower or any other moment where you could ruin her innocence."

"Geez, Evar, I'm not that much of a pervert. I'm a grown man, I know what's too much–"

"You already saw her naked, didn't you?"

"Only from the back!"

That earned him a smack in the head.

"I can't believe I'm related to you," she said through clenched teeth.

As she was about to hit him again, he poofed back into cat form, giving his sister a smug grin as he landed on all four feet.

"You wouldn't hurt a cute kitty, would you?" he taunted.

"Don't try me."

"You wouldn't hurt your brother…?"

"You know I would, Heretsu. I already did."

"I liked you a lot better when you were little and looked up to me."

"That was before I knew what you'd grow up to be. And I only looked up to you because you were taller than me. Just because you were my Meister doesn't mean I worshipped you."

"Really? I thought that came with being a Weapon."

"Don't make me get the Humane Society in here, Sparky."

"Not you, too!"

Evar smirked as she walked out of the classroom, an irritated Heretsu following behind her. He'd slink off somewhere else; so much for reuniting with his sister. It was much nicer being pampered by Tsubaki then dealing with his moody baby sister.

Once class got out, he'd be able to go back home and play with all the yarn he wanted to. Even if he was a grown man, no one could resist yarn while in the body of a cat. At least that's what he told himself to keep his sanity in check.

* * *

><p>Evar walked quietly alongside Stein down the streets of Death City.<p>

"When Lord Death assigned me as your weapon," she said, "I didn't think I'd be put on a mission the same day."

"It's not really a mission considering we aren't leaving the city," Stein pointed out, "Lord Death just mentioned that there seemed to be some suspicious activity going on. It shouldn't be anything too difficult."

"I hope not. It's been years since I've ever been wielded by a Meister; hopefully I don't mess up."

"Well that's reassuring. Come to think of it, I don't even know what kind of a Weapon you are, Evar."

The woman blushed a little with embarrassment.

"Guess I forgot to tell you," she answered, "But I'm a scythe. Though I'm a little… different."

"Care to elaborate?"

"I'm charged with electricity, so any hit to an area with a lot of nerve endings tends to be pretty effective."

"At least I know now instead of in mid-battle."

Evar smiled at him and he managed to smirk back. The two continued walking in the dead of night, the only sound being Evar's heels. For a while, nothing really happened. Stein didn't expect them to find anything in the first place, so this didn't really bother him.

"Where is this thing?" Evar groaned, "I just wanna kick its ass and go home."

"You're rather impatient."

"No, I just have more papers to grade…"

Stein glanced over to say something, but was horrified to see a face other than Evar's on her body. Medusa. He jerked back, bumping into one of the apartment complexes that covered the city.

"What's the matter, Stein?" that familiar evil voice hissed, "You haven't forgotten about me, have you?"

He frantically reached up and twisted the dial in his head, hoping that would somehow make her go away. His eyes closed as he heard her maniacal laughter, not wanting to see her cruel, twisted face.

"Stein!"

His eyes opened and he saw Evar, holding onto his shoulders and looking at him worriedly. It took him a while to catch his breath. That couldn't have happened. Maka had destroyed her. It was just his mind playing a cruel joke.

"Snap out of it, Stein!" Evar snapped, "What's wrong with you?"

The man gently pushed her away and stood up, looking down at the ground.

"I thought I saw something," he murmured, "Never mind. Let's go."

"Stein, seriously, what happened? You looked like you'd seen a ghost…"

"Worse. Now, come on."

He grabbed Evar's hand and pulled her forward down the street, holding so tightly that the woman feared her hand might break. Even after she'd stopped asking him what was wrong he still clung to her hand, his connection to sanity.

"Stein," Evar called after a while, "You can let go of my hand, you know…"

She was ignored. It would've been nice to know why he was clinging to her like a vice, but after a while it stopped bothering her. His hand was rough but it was still nice to hold. Her hand willingly took his in a grasp as well, causing Stein to look back at her.

He'd been holding onto her for her sanity, afraid that if he let go she'd turn back into Medusa. Perhaps she understood his fear. That was why she was holding on as well. She didn't want him to let the madness return either. He smiled at her gratefully.

Evar smiled back, though hers was for a completely different reason.

* * *

><p>"<em>Yahoo! <em>The star has arrived! Let the party begin!"

Tsubaki sighed embarrassed as her Meister made his grand entrance into Soul and Maka's apartment, making sure all attention was on him as usual. The cat she held squirmed in her arms and leapt down to the floor, walking in to inspect the apartment.

"Oh, I didn't know you got a cat," Maka said, completely ignoring Black*Star, "How cute!"

"His name's Sparky,' Tsubaki told her, "Because of his tail."

"Maybe now Blair will have someone to play with," Soul said from the living room.

He was with Crona, Kid, Liz and Patty, who'd been talking about how great it was to be the weekend. But then Black*Star entered, and it was kind of hard not to notice him.

At the mention of her name, Blair leapt off of Soul's lap and trotted over to Maka. The cat rubbed against Maka's leg before sitting down and looking at the new cat.

"A playmate!" she squeaked.

At that, she transformed into a woman, her eyes lit up with excitement. Heretsu just gawked.

_Hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot!_

"And it's another kitty, just like me!" Blair cooed as she lifted the cat up and pressed it against her chest.

Had Heretsu been human, there would have been blood from his nose all over the place. Yet as a cat, he somehow managed to control it.

"Oh, this is going to be so fun!" Blair squealed, "Come on, Sparky, let's go play!"

The cat meowed in agreement as Blair ran off with him into one of the other rooms to do who-knew-what.

"Well, that solved that problem," Maka muttered as she led Tsubaki and Black*Star to the living room with the others.

"Now we don't have to worry about Soul getting blood all over the place," Liz teased.

"Shut up!" Soul cried.

"Anyway," Maka sighed, "What do you guys think of Miss Elektra?"

"She seems really nice," Tsubaki said, "I like her."

"Well I don't," Black*Star grumbled, "If she's hanging out with the nutty professor, she'll probably become just as crazy as him."

"Stein may be crazy, but he's brilliant," Kid argued, "Who knows, maybe he'll turn her into a Death Scythe."

"Really?" Patty gasped, "That'd be so neat!"

"Then she'd be like Miss Marie," Crona added weakly.

"And it'd be pretty cool having a Death Scythe who isn't Maka's dad teaching us," Soul pointed out.

"Agreed," Maka mumbled.

"Miss Marie was a Death Scythe," Crona murmured.

"That is true," Kid replied.

"But I think she had the hots for Stein," Soul added, "So not cool."

"I think it's cute that she had a little crush on him," Tsubaki said weakly.

"Too bad he's too crazy to notice," Black*Star laughed, "Watch, the same thing will happen with Miss Elektra! She'll go all cuckoo and he still won't notice!"

There was a long pause before anyone said anything, which confused Black*Star. Had the truth of his words sent them all into shock?

"They are living together," Liz finally said.

"And Professor Stein could really use a date," Maka added, "He seemed so lonely after Marie left and now Evar's here."

"If he got a girlfriend he'd probably be less hard on us," Soul said excitedly, "And we'd have less homework."

"Did you ever think that it might make him happy, too?" Kid grumbled.

"Miss Elektra is really nice," Crona whispered, "I think she'd be good for Professor Stein."

"Whoa, whoa, wait!" Black*Star cried, "Did I miss something here?"

"Of course not," Maka said, "I think it's obvious."

Everyone looked at her, anticipating what she'd say.

"We need to get Professor Stein to ask Miss Elektra out on a date!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Maka: I can't wait for us to set our plan in motion! Professor Stein will be so happy!<em>**

**_Soul: As long as we don't screw it up. And we don't even know if Miss Elektra's interested in him..._**

**_Maka:... That doesn't matter! She'll learn to like him._**

**_Soul: I guess. He does have a face only a mother could love._**

**_Maka: *Maka Chop!*_**

**_Soul: Ow... fine, it'll work, just stop hitting me with that damn book!_**

* * *

><p><strong>So did you like it? I had a really bad case of writer's block in the middle of this one so I hope what I gave you is good. Again, please review! Only my friends are and I don't want to sound desperate but... <em>please?<em> I'll give you a present! Haha, well see you next time, love you all! Stay tuned for updates or I'll take your soul!**


	5. Special Lesson: Medusa's Madness?

**Hey hey, what's up, kiddies? *inside joke* Well, I'm pretty happy to be honest because I got some reviews *dances* and I thought that I should update to encourage the rest of you to review too! Just a few words is all it takes to make me happy! Hope you like this chapter!**

Chapter 5

_I stood outside my laboratory, staring at it. The sky was red, but I didn't wonder why. It seemed normal._

"_Stein!"_

_My head turned at the sound of my name. There's a large apple tree, with springy, green grass at its roots. A young woman stood in front of it, waving at me. I quickly recognized it as Evar. She appeared to be nude, though her long hair covered her most feminine areas. _

"_Stein, come here!" she called, "You have to try this fruit!"_

_I walked towards her, not having anywhere else to go. Her smile was genuine and her eyes sparkled as she beckoned me closer, looking so happy just to be alive. The feeling was somewhat infectious. A small smile crept on the corners of my mouth, the tiniest sign of joy. _

_Once I reached her, she embraced me, a musical laugh ringing in my ears. _

"_Smile for me, Stein," she said softly, "Smile. I'd love to see you smile."_

_I said nothing. I felt frozen. There was nothing I could say or do._

_Her lips came to my ear, her breath warm. _

"_Smile," she whispered, "Just one smile. Please? For me? Come on, smile."_

_I suddenly began to tense. This didn't feel right. I had to get away. Something was wrong here. _

_Evar's hair began to move, almost levitate, and wrapped around me. _

"_Smile, my lover," she hissed, "I'm back."_

_The locks of hair instantly turned into several snakes, constricting me and cutting off my oxygen. A horrible, cruel laugh filled the thick air, making my head throb._

"_Oh, Stein, you horrible, horrible man."_

_I looked and realized that Evar had turned into Medusa, a cruel smirk on her face. As hard as I tried to get away, the snakes only tightened around me, making it harder and harder to breathe. She came closer, never losing that smug look on her face._

_The tree had wilted and died, all of its fruits turning rotten and falling to the grass that had become brown._

"_Look at what you've gone and done," she sighed, "This poor, innocent girl… you're doing to her the same thing you did to Marie."_

"_What are you talking about?" I gasped. _

_Medusa reached out and took my chin in her hands. I struggled more, just hoping to get her off of me, but she was too strong and the snakes bound me too tight. _

'_You know exactly what I'm talking about, Stein," she hissed, "You're a cruel man. So heartless. Just like me."_

"_I'm not like you," I managed to get out, "You're dead!"_

_Her grin widened and she leaned closer, our noses almost touching. _

"_You think something as small as death can keep me away from you?" she murmured, "Oh no, Stein. I'm not going anywhere."_

"Medusa!"

Stein sat up straight in bed, gasping for air. His body was shaking and covered in sweat, still in shock from the nightmare. His hands shot out at his sheets, to his chest, to his head, anything that would reassure him he was awake.

"What the hell was that?" he breathed.

"Stein? Stein, are you ok?"

The door to his room opened and he shielded his eyes, afraid that he'd see Medusa again.

Evar could tell something wasn't right and went over to the bed, sitting down and placing her hand on his shoulder. He jerked away and almost fell off the bed, causing Evar to catch her breath.

"Stein!"

He sat up and finally looked at her, panting for air as he tried to regain his sanity. It was just Evar, wearing a white nightgown. Just normal Evar.

She grabbed his shoulders, looking genuinely concerned about him.

"Hey, it's okay," she said softly, "It was a dream… It's fine."

Stein blinked rapidly for a moment, taking in everything around him. His room, the bed, Evar. It was okay. He was safe in his home.

Evar rubbed her hands up and down his arms, trying to calm him down. She attempted to ignore the fact that he was shirtless, but it kind of difficult with him right there. But that wasn't what was important. Whatever he'd dreamt about had certainly gotten to him. And that had to be something pretty frightening to freak out Stein.

He reached up and put his hand against his head, his breathing finally starting to even out.

"I'm fine," he breathed, "I'm fine… Go back to sleep."

"Not until I know you're okay," she said, "That dream obviously shook you up. What happened?"

"Nothing!" he cried, "Nothing happened! I'm fine!"

Evar sighed and dropped one of her hands, just letting the one rest lightly on his shoulder. Stein looked over at her, his fear starting to die down.

"Look, Stein," she said softly, "I know I've only been here a couple weeks, but… I am your Weapon partner now. You can trust me, okay?"

He was quiet for a long time, pondering what she'd said. Of course he knew that he had to trust her now that she was his Weapon. And yet…

"I know I can," he breathed, "But I'd rather forget the dream."

Evar was only slightly disappointed. She wished he'd tell her what was wrong, but he had his right to privacy. And at least he said he trusted her. That was good enough for her. She got off the bed and started to head to the door.

"Evar…"

She stopped and looked back at him. It seemed that he'd started to get up and follow her, but it was hard to tell now that he was motionless.

"Thank you," he said after a moment, "For… being concerned about me."

"Of course," she replied, "That's what partners are for. But we should get some rest now. Sleep well this time and no more nightmares."

"You too. Night, Evar."

"Goodnight, Stein."

She closed the door quietly, engulfing Stein in the darkness again. He lay back down, placing his head on the pillow. What she'd done had been very… sweet. She could've just come in, asked what was wrong and left without an answer. But she'd tried to get him to open up. She cared enough to try. For that, he was grateful.

* * *

><p>Soul looked over at Maka during Miss Elektra's lecture on the differences of soul wavelengths. She was paying attention, as usual, occasionally writing down notes in her notebook.<p>

"Maka," he whispered.

The girl considered ignoring him, but knew that he'd just keep bothering her until she paid attention. It was best just to get it over with.

"What?"

"Miss Elektra's been here almost a month now," he breathed, "Aren't we supposed to work up on getting her with Professor Stein?"

Maka paused in her writing for a moment. That was true. She and the others agreed that they'd try to get Miss Elektra set up with Professor Stein, but agreed they'd wait until she was more settled in. It was almost a month now. Should they get to it?

"Isn't that right, Maka?"

The girl jumped slightly as she realized the teacher was speaking to her.

"Um, yes, ma'am, that is!" she said with as much confidence as she could muster.

Evar just nodded and continued the lecture. She knew that Maka was a good student; she was the best in her class. Her mind had probably wandered for just a moment, but it still needed to be caught and returned to attention. Evar had seemed to do that without any problem.

The bell rang just as she finished her lecture, much to everyone's relief. She dismissed the class and went to erase the chalkboard.

"Goodbye, Miss Elektra!"

Evar turned to see Crona smiling weakly at her, Soul and Maka waiting for him at the door.

"Bye, Crona," she called, "And bye to you too, Ragnarok!"

The Demon Sword sprouted from Crona's back, waving his tiny fist in the air.

"Who asked you?" he snapped, "I'm not even a student so I don't have to say bye to you!"

"Ragnarok!" Crona groaned with embarrassment.

That earned him some head pounding from Ragnarok's fists, eventually causing him to leave the room and follow his fried. Evar smiled and went back to getting rid of the marks she'd made on the chalkboard.

"Such a sweet boy," she sighed, "His parents must be so proud."

Although Lord Death had explained to Evar that Crona betrayed the DWMA and had been close to becoming a kishin, he'd never mentioned that he was the child of Medusa. That was something that didn't need to be mentioned, in Lord Death's opinion, and he didn't want Evar to treat the boy any differently from other students because of his unfortunate heritage. It was best left forgotten.

"Evar."

She turned and saw Stein standing in her doorway, looking as emotionless as ever.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Could you help me with today's lesson?"

A devilish grin lit up the woman's face.

"Is it a lesson in ass-kicking?" she said teasingly, "That's my specialty, you know."

"Yes, I know that. And actually, it is. Should be pretty exciting."

"As long as you don't dissect me, I'm good with it."

"Damn…"

"What?"

"Nothing."

* * *

><p>"Ow, my face!" Black*Star cried as he fell to the ground.<p>

It turned out that Professor Stein's "ass-kicking" lesson involved him fighting any student who dared to challenge him. Of course, Black*star was the first to volunteer himself. Unfortunately, he'd just been hit in the face, sending him flying backwards on his ass.

"Come on, Black*Star," Stein said, "I know you can do better than that."

The boy got to his feet, Tsubaki becoming a chain scythe on command. Black*Star had to admit that seeing Professor Stein wielding Evar as a giant, electric scythe was kind of intimidating, but he knew he could handle it. He was the great Black*Star after all. Nothing could stop him!

"You know, Stein," Evar sighed, "I know I agreed to this because of the ass-kicking, but don't you think you're being kind of hard on them? They are just kids."

"Not at all," Stein replied, "This is how you push them to their greatest potential."

Black*Star charged at the professor with all his might, the rest of the class watching curiously. They'd been excited when the professor told them that today's lesson would be outside, but hadn't imagined they'd actually be fighting against him.

A blur of blue hair leapt over Professor Stein, looking like he was finally going to land a blow. All the kids watched in anticipation, wanting to see the professor's reaction. However, their anticipation was short-lived.

Stein knew the boy would perform an aerial attack and had planned his move according to that. Good thing Black*Star was predictable. The professor flipped the scythe around and placed the blade on the ground, leaping up and perching on the top of the handle. Since the scythe wasn't a flat shape, he knew he didn't have much time to stay stable. But he'd planned it just right.

"Soul force!"

Black*star fell to the ground just as Stein hopped down to the ground, flipping Evar upright and grabbing the staff.

"That hurt my head," she groaned, "And what the hell, I'm a Weapon, not a prop!"

Tsubaki changed into her human form and dragged an enraged Black*Star to the rest of the class.

"_That's right, Professor! You didn't use your Weapon properly, what's that all about? If you didn't use your damn soul force, Tsubaki and I could've beaten you easily!"_

"Please, Black*Star," Tsubaki sighed, "It's okay, he's a lot more experienced than us, he's our teacher after all."

"The object wasn't to beat me," Stein pointed out, "It was to see how long you could last. Most of you have only dealt with a few kishins up-close. Even when Asura was here, only a handful of you dealt with anything on such a high level. You need to learn how to handle an increasingly strong opponent, such as a witch. For now, I'd like you to get in your resonance teams and –"

A snake suddenly appeared at a tree not far from him, wrapping its slick body around the trunk. It wouldn't have bothered him so much if it weren't for the arrows covering its body. The sight caused him to take a few steps back, catching his breath as he did.

"Stein?" Evar asked.

"Professor?" Maka added worriedly.

When he didn't respond, Evar changed back into her human form, her hand resting on his shoulder.

"Stein, what the hell is going on?" she demanded.

"She's back," he breathed, "She's back…"

Evar could tell whoever "she" was wasn't someone he wanted to encounter. But no one was there so it had to be something in his head.

"Kids, go back to the classroom," she instructed, "I'm going to take Professor Stein to the nurse and then I'll finish his lesson for today."

The students all obeyed, worried about what was happening to their professor. They knew he was crazy, but it wasn't like there was a source of madness that could be amplifying it. The kishin was dead, it wasn't possible.

Evar led Stein over to one of the many trees in the forest, sitting down beside him as he sunk to his knees.

"What's going on, Stein?" she asked, "Who is she? Is this what happened in your nightmare? Was she in it?"

Stein blinked rapidly and looked around. The snake had disappeared… for now. He knew that it could come back at any given moment.

"Stein, if you don't give me answers, I'll have to take you to the nurse."

"I can't," he whispered, "I can't… you can't take me back to her, she'll make me hurt them again."

"Who will make you hurt them? I won't take you to her, just tell me who it is."

He looked over at her, ready to answer, but stopped once his eyes landed on her. The snake had returned, and was hanging on Evar's neck like it was a scarf, the head resting on her shoulder. Its black tongue darted out for a moment, brushing Evar's throat. It then turned its head to look directly at Stein.

"Replacing me, are you?" it hissed, "Oh, Stein, how cruel."

"Stein, please, talk to me," Evar said, "Who is she?"

How could she not see the snake wrapped around her neck? Was she crazy?

"I'm surprised, Stein," the snake sighed, "She isn't anything like what I expected. I don't think there's an ounce of madness in her. Hmm… we'll have to change that."

"Medusa!" Stein cried.

He lunged at the snake, but it only hissed and disappeared into thin air, leaving a very surprised Evar gasping as the professor gripped her shoulders and pushed her down on the ground. She just looked up at him, trying to stay as calm as possible. It was obvious that he was hallucinating and she needed to be calm and collected in order to snap him out of it.

Stein's eyes widened as he realized he had pinned Evar down. But Medusa… she'd been right there. How could he…? Damn! The madness. Somehow it was starting to return.

He quickly released her and stood up, twisting the dial in his head.

"I'm sorry about that, Evar," he said as he searched in his lab coat for a cigarette.

"It's fine," she replied, getting to her feet and brushing herself off, "But, just one question. Who's Medusa?"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Liz: Hey, have you guys noticed that the professor seems to be acting weird?<em>**

**_Patty: Yeah! Even weirder than normal!_**

**_Kid: So? Don't you care that we are hardly mentioned in this story!_**

**_Liz: Right now I'm more worried about Professor Stein..._**

**_Kid: I bet it's because of my hair. These damn lines keep me from being symmetrical so I'm not good enough to be included in this story!_**

**_Liz: Right... but Professor Stein is kind of what we should be worrying about..._**

**_Kid: Why? He's not symmetrical either because of that damn screw! We're both asymmetrical garbage!_**

* * *

><p><strong>So how'd you like it? I hope you like it enough to review! *hint hint* Other than that I don't have much to say, so I'll see you later! Shobadeeboobooboo bitches! *other inside joke*<strong>


	6. Witches Join: Crona's Fear?

**Hello there everyone! How are you all? Hopefully good because... well who likes to be bad? Anyway, I don't have much to say, so here's chapter six!**

Chapter 6

Crona walked home with Maka and Soul worriedly. He really hoped that Professor Stein was okay. The last time something happened to him had been his fault and he didn't want that to happen again. After Stein hadn't returned to class, Crona only became more worried. What if something terrible happened to him?

"Um, Maka?" he breathed softly.

The girl had just been in the middle of an argument with Soul about her flat chest and was rather relieved to be taken away from that discussion.

"What is it, Crona?"

"Do you think that Professor Stein is going to be alright?"

Maka pondered this for a moment. The professor had seemed really unusual today, even more so than normal. It was almost like the madness had started taking over him again. But there wasn't any source that could cause madness, nor was there anything to amplify it. That only made Professor Stein's actions even more unusual.

"I think he'll be fine," she said eventually, "Professor Stein's really strong. I doubt there's anything to worry about."

"Oh," Crona said, "Okay. Well, that's good."

They continued walking back to the apartment, Soul and Maka beginning to argue again. Crona just walked behind them silently, a weak smile on his face the whole time. It'd been really nice of Maka and Soul to take him in, even after all the trouble he'd caused. They really were good friends.

"Crona," a voice hissed.

The boy jerked to a halt, looking around. Neither of his friends had said it; they were still arguing. But Crona knew that someone had said his name. That was certain.

"Come here, Crona."

He looked over and saw something moving in an alley directly beside him, disappearing into the shadows. Without speaking, he followed after it, wondering who could be calling him. He slid deeper into the alley, Soul and Maka nowhere to be found.

"H-h-h-hello?" Crona whispered, "Who's th-th-th-there?"

Something brushed against his feet, causing him to yelp and jump to the side slightly. When he looked down to see what it was, his teeth began to chatter.

There, at his feet, was a snake. But not just any snake. A black snake with yellow arrows across its body.

"Lady Medusa!"

* * *

><p>"Crona's an orphan?" Evar gasped horrified.<p>

Stein nodded and took a drag from the cigarette. After explaining briefly who Medusa was, Stein had mentioned that she was in fact the boy's mother. He assumed that the father was dead or unaware of Crona's existence, and Medusa's death meant that the boy had no parents.

And that broke Evar's heart. She hadn't always gotten along with her parents, but she could never imagine losing both of them at such a young age. And unlike her, Crona was an only child. He was all by himself. How could he possibly deal with that?

"He lives with Maka and Soul now," Stein added, "It's not like he's alone."

"But he doesn't have family," Evar protested, "Maka and Soul do, it's not the same."

"I guess. Why are you getting so worked up about this in the first place?"

"Wouldn't you be upset if you were an orphan?"

It became very quiet. Stein held his cigarette between his fingers, his face emotionless. Evar stared at him, trying to understand. Why wasn't he responding? Anyone would be upset to lose their parents. How could he be so apathetic? And then it hit her.

"Oh, god, Stein, I'm sorry, I didn't know…"

"It's alright," he assured, "No need to apologize. I hadn't told you about my family so you couldn't help it."

"Stein, no, that's just, I am so sorry…"

"Don't be. My mother died due to complications during my birth. My father raised me until I was nine, but hadn't been able to accept my nature. After he committed suicide, I came to the DWMA and stayed with Spirit until I was old enough."

Evar gaped at him. How could he say that without tearing up? Even her eyes had started to become moist just from his dry explanation.

Without thinking it through, she stepped over and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him into a tight embrace. Stein flinched with surprise; he wasn't shown affection very often. But he had to admit that he appreciated her sympathy. Few people knew about his tragic past and it was nice to know that someone cared like that.

Stein returned the embrace stiffly, careful not to get his cigarette in her long hair. The last thing he needed was for this moment to be ruined by lighting her hair on fire.

"I'm so sorry, Stein," she breathed as she pressed her face into him, "Not for what I said, but for your loss. I am so sorry, even if you don't want me to be."

She pulled her head away and Stein saw that tears were desperately trying to escape her eyes. He wasn't a very emotional person and honestly had no idea how to handle her in such a situation. So he just kept awkwardly returning the hug, unsure of what to say.

"I just can't imagine," Evar whimpered, "It just… and Crona… oh, Stein, look at you! You've turned me into a wreck!"

He was about to pull away and apologize when she brought him closer, burying her face into his shirt. The moisture went through the fabric of his shirt, causing it to become damp. Now Stein felt even more confused. No one had ever put him in this kind of situation.

He dropped the cigarette to the forest floor and crushed it with his foot, putting it out. It had become tiresome to try and hold it while in the middle of a hug and it wasn't like he'd choose a cig over his Weapon partner. With the cigarette gone, Stein was able to give her a real hug, more or less. It was stiff and unnatural, but it was still a hug.

Her arms tightened around him and she caught her breath on a sob.

"You can trust me, Stein," she sniffled, "You can tell me anything. Don't hide stuff anymore, okay?"

"I wasn't hiding any–"

"Okay?"

Stein looked down to see that she'd tilted her head up to see him. Her eyes were red from crying, but she didn't look pitiful like most sad people were. She looked sincere and serious about what she'd just said.

"Okay, Evar."

* * *

><p>"Ugh, gag me, Evar," Kage muttered, "This is pathetic."<p>

The young witch had cloaked her soul in order to blend amongst the DWMA students. It was typical for them to go through this forest, so she was able to walk around and tune her ears and eyes to hear everything Evar was saying. It was definitely a sad sight.

"Such a baby," she mumbled, "Always crying. Just shut up!"

As she watched from behind a tree, she looked down and noticed a snake sliding around her feet. The witch scoffed and dug the heel of her shoe into its back. Instead of piercing its skin, the snake hissed and coiled in irritation. Kage looked at the creature surprised. And this snake was unusual. It had… arrows? Yellow arrows all over its body.

The snake slithered away slowly, almost as if telling the witch to follow. She looked back at Evar, who was still sobbing. This was getting boring. Why not follow the freaky reptile into the woods? She was a witch after all; she could defend herself.

After a while of slithering, the snake stopped once it was far away from any human ears. Kage stopped as well, looking at it annoyed.

"Well, what do you want?" she asked.

The snake looked up at her and darted its tongue out at her.

"You want to kill that girl?" the snake asked.

Kage was only shocked for a moment. Then she understood. It was another witch.

"Why do you ask?"

"That little ssssknank is moving in on my beloved Ssssstein," it hissed, "And I don't like that."

Kage wrinkled her nose.

"You like Screw-Head?" she asked, "Why on earth would you? I can't even understand why one person like her is interested in him."

"Sssstein may be sssstrange, but he isss mine and I won't let anyone elssssssse have him. Undersssstand?"

Kage considered this. She didn't even know this witch's name, nor was she one hundred percent positive she _was _a witch. Something was definitely off about her. But she seemed to possess the same hunger for vengeance that she did, so they probably wouldn't have any problems getting along.

"You're kind of weird, but if you want to kill Evar, then I'm in."

"Wonderful."

A short, but very powerful evil laugh came from the reptile, even frightening Kage a little. This one was definitely a psycho. But as long as she got her revenge, Kage didn't care.

* * *

><p>"Yes, Crona, it's me."<p>

The boy backed up against the alley wall, horrified to see the witch walking towards him in her normal human body. There was no way this could be happening. Maka had destroyed her. She couldn't be alive. He was dreaming. This was a horrible nightmare. He'd wake up any moment now and be in bed.

"You're not dreaming, Crona," Medusa sighed, "I'm here. What, are you not happy to see your mother?"

Crona trembled as she came even closer to him. He was almost always scared, but this had to be one of the most terrifying moments of his life.

"Y-y-y-y-you're s-s-supposed to b-b-be d-dead!" he stammered.

Medusa let out an evil chuckle as she grabbed Crona by the shoulders, pulling him close.

"Mother missed you," she murmured, "I couldn't let something like death keep us apart, now could I, Crona?"

"S-s-stop s-s-saying that! I-I d-d-don't l-like y-you!"

Medusa narrowed her eyes and gripped his shoulders tighter, making him cry out in surprise.

"Why are you so mean to me, Crona?" she said in a sick attempt at sweetness.

The boy trembled violently. There was nowhere to run to. He couldn't use Ragnarok; Medusa would kill him if he attempted to fight. If he called for Maka and Soul she'd kill them as well.

"You're not my mom!" he cried.

The witch straightened her back, an evil look appearing on her face.

"What a horrible thing to say," she hissed, "And if you're going to be like that, then fine. Professor Stein won't have much longer left."

"W-w-what?"

She knew she had his attention now. Crona had become attached to almost everyone at the DWMA, even Stein. And due to his last scheme with Medusa, he was even more paranoid when it came to the professor.

"You have to tell me some things, Crona," Medusa said sternly, "And I'll take the snakes out of Stein."

"You put snakes in him?"

Medusa grinned. He'd fallen for it. She had him now.

Crona looked down at the ground. Medusa had gotten some of her snakes in Stein. Now she could possess him and make the madness take over. She could make him hurt people again…

"W-w-what do you w-want to know?"

"That's better. I want you to tell me about the woman he's partnered with, this new girl."

The boy smiled for a fraction of a second as he thought about Miss Elektra. She'd always been so nice to him; warm and caring just like Miss Marie. She accepted him for who he was and didn't judge him like some of the other people. There was even that time on the first day when she'd gone out of the way just to introduce herself.

"Miss Elektra's very nice," he said weakly, "She's sweet, but really strong. And all the students think she's funny because she always makes jokes about Black*Star and other troublemakers…"

"And Stein, what does he think of her?"

Crona hesitated. He didn't really know, to be honest. It wasn't like he saw the two of them very much. Only during school hours. How was he supposed to know?

"They get along," he said, "They're good partners… Miss Elektra is really good for Professor Stein."

He was suddenly pressed against the wall, being lifted by the fabric at his neck. Medusa's golden eyes burned into him with rage. Crona whimpered and struggled, afraid that she was going to kill him. The witch realized she'd let her temper take over and set him back down, composing herself.

"That's all, Crona," she said, "You can go. But if you tell anyone about this, or me, I will take all the snakes out of Stein at once."

"But that'll kill him!" Crona protested.

"That's the point."

With that, Medusa turned back into a snake and slithered off deeper into the alley. Crona just stood there shaking. He felt like crying. But the tears wouldn't come.

"Crona!"

He looked up as someone called his name, recognizing the voice.

"Crona, where are you?" Maka called.

The boy ran out of the alley and straight into Maka, the two of them bumping heads. Soul rolled his eyes as they rubbed their heads. Lame.

"There you are!" Maka sighed with relief, "Where'd you run off to?"

"Oh," Crona breathed, "I-I just s-s-saw a c-c-cat that l-looked l-l-like Blair and w-w-went to s-s-see if i-it was h-her."

"Oh. Was it her?"

"N-no."

"Then she's probably home. We should get going so we can work on our homework and keep Blair from destroying the apartment in an attempt to entertain herself."

The girl grabbed Crona's hand and started to run with him towards the apartment, a reluctant Soul jogging after them. Crona looked at the back of Maka's head nervously, her ponytails swaying in the air.

"What have I done?" he said under his breath.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Medusa: I'm back. Didn't you all miss me?<em>**

**_Maka: No one likes you. And why won't you just die already?_**

**_Medusa: I have my ways._**

**_Maka: Well hurry up and die!_**

**_Medusa: Such a mean, little girl._**

**_Maka: You're one to talk!_**

* * *

><p><strong>Hmm, well again not much to say. Just please review and tell me what you think! Means a lot to me :) See you next time!<strong>


	7. Confused Scientist: Black Star's Help?

**Hi again everyone! Well, first off, thank you for the reviews new reviewers! I love you all and really appreciate it. Secondly, I'm starting school tomorrow *ew* so I'm not sure how quickly I'll be able to update. Despite that, I'll try to update as quickly as possible for you guys!**

Chapter 7

Stein woke up a little later than he normally did, but he wasn't sure why. He'd gotten the same amount of sleep as any other night and hadn't had any nightmares that kept him up. Perhaps today was just going to be an off day.

He crawled out of bed and went to the kitchen where a cup of coffee waited for him on the counter. Steam still rose from the mug, so he knew that Evar had just made it. Although he didn't recognize the mug; it was pink and had a big red heart on it. Oh well. It wasn't like anyone of consequence was here to see him drink out of such a girly container.

"Evar?" he called.

Normally she was down here in her pajamas when he went to the kitchen, but she was nowhere to be seen. That was odd. Stein took a sip of coffee and smiled to himself. It was about as black as coffee could get; just the way he liked it. He'd never even told Evar that he liked it that way. Somehow she just seemed to realize it.

The scientist decided he'd go and look for his roommate since he still had a little time before he had to get ready. He was still only wearing his sweats and hadn't bothered to put a shirt on; not very presentable. But it didn't bother him. It wasn't like there was anyone he was trying to impress.

Since she hadn't answered him, Stein assumed that Evar had probably gone back to her bedroom and fallen asleep again. The woman had been up all night grading papers and was probably exhausted. He got to her room and didn't bother to knock. After all, she was probably asleep. Stein twisted the knob and pushed the door open, stepping inside the room. His mouth opened to speak, but his lips gradually closed in shock.

Evar was at her bed, but she wasn't sleeping. She'd changed out of her pajamas into a short, black skirt that accentuated her hips, a typical look for her. But on top was a different story. All she had on was a lacy, white bra that her breasts were almost popping out of. There was a white shirt in her hand, but she froze when Stein had opened the door.

For a moment they just stood there, not really knowing what to say. It was a beyond awkward situation and not something that one could just deal with. Neither of them had a clue as to what they were supposed to do.

"_Get out!"_ Evar screeched suddenly.

Her free arm turned into the blade of her scythe, electricity flowing through it. Stein swiftly stepped out and closed the door before she could maul him.

The scientist hesitated a moment, staring straight ahead. He'd never seen a woman in her underwear before. It was quite strange. He had to admit thought that it was slightly enticing. There was a reason Spirit was prowling after the woman and it had just become quite clear to Stein. She had lovely skin… how it would be to slice it open…

Stein stopped himself quickly. He took a swig of coffee and walked away calmly, reaching up to give the screw in his head a twist. Those kinds of thoughts were exactly what he needed to get rid of. It would only increase his madness.

Meanwhile, Evar pulled her shirt on over her head, smoothing it out gently. She glanced over to the door where Stein had come in. They'd been living together for a while and this was the first time he'd walked in on her. She shouldn't have been so surprised; it was bound to happen at some time or another. Still, the fact that he was half naked had only made it more awkward. Couldn't he put a shirt on or something? Sure he walked around in the morning without a shirt on all the time, but when he walked in on _her _without a shirt…

Evar shook her head and left the room, trying to let it go. It wasn't like he'd meant to walk in on her or anything. It was simply an accident. She couldn't get too angry with him for that.

She went to the kitchen for something to eat. Stein didn't really have anything in the fridge, so she just poured herself a glass of milk and grabbed a banana. The man really needed to go grocery shopping.

"Hey."

Evar turned around with banana in her mouth, surprised to see Stein. He'd changed into his typical outfit, lab coat and all, and was looking at her with the same lack of emotion as always.

"Hey," she replied, "You really need to go shopping, there's nothing in the fridge."

"Sorry. I don't eat much."

She sighed and swallowed a chunk of banana, wishing there was something else she could eat that would fill her up. How could Stein live like this?

"I didn't mean to walk in on you."

Evar paused with her mouth over the yellow fruit.

"I thought you fell back asleep," he said, "So I went to wake you up."

"Oh. Well, um… thanks?"

He shrugged and reached into his lab coat for a cigarette. Evar finished her makeshift meal just as he let out a puff of smoke.

"You know that's really unhealthy," she said.

"Yeah."

She stared at him. Of course she'd heard the stories of how nicotine was addictive and was hard to quit. But that didn't explain why people kept doing it if they knew it was bad for them. It made no sense.

"Then why do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Smoke."

Stein pondered this for a moment. No one had ever asked him that before.

"I guess you could say it's my weakness," he said after a while.

"The weakness of the greatest Meister to ever live is a little rolled up piece of paper filled with tar?"

It became very quiet. When put into that perspective, Stein felt slightly pathetic. A lot of people were easily susceptible to nicotine's power, but why was he? As Evar said, he was the most powerful Meister at the DWMA. He should be stronger than those who fell to the addiction of smoking. So why wasn't he?

"Don't worry about it, Stein," Evar sighed, "My weakness is water, which is pretty lame in comparison to smoking."

"Water?"

She nodded but remained silent, signaling that she didn't want to discuss the matter. Stein respected her privacy. Plus, he didn't want her to get angry like earlier and go into Weapon mode. He had enough scars on his body as it was.

"We should get going," he said, "Being late wouldn't set a good example for the students."

"Then what are you waiting for? Come on already!"

She grabbed him by the wrist and flew out the door, Stein's cigarette almost falling out of his mouth. He reluctantly followed, not wanting to risk getting electrocuted.

* * *

><p>"Today's the day," Maka said with determination, "Today is the day we're going to set the professor up with Miss Elektra!"<p>

She and her friends were all gathered together in first period, scheming before Miss Elektra came in.

"If we can pull this off, it'll be pretty cool," Soul said.

"All of the stations have been set up," Kid added, "And we all know where our designated areas are. There's no way this can fail!"

"I still think this is lame," Black*Star muttered, "The professor's just gonna make her as crazy as he is. Why do we want that to happen?"

"Don't we want him to be happy?" Crona murmured.

"Yeah, Black*Star, lighten up," Liz snapped, "This'll be good for them."

"Yeah!" Patty cheered.

"This is really sweet," Tsubaki chimed in, "It'd be really nice if you'd help us, Black*Star."

"Fine," he grumbled, "But don't expect me to be nice when Miss Elektra loses her marbles."

Just as Maka was about to chop Black*Star, Evar entered the room, clearing her throat and sending the kids to their seats.

"Morning, class," she said.

"Morning, Miss Elektra," everyone replied.

She walked over to her desk and was about to take a seat when she noticed something wrong. This wasn't her chair. It wouldn't normally have been a big deal. However, this was Stein's chair; the stitches were unmistakable.

"Okay, who stole Professor Stein's chair?" she sighed.

Everyone looked at each other questioningly, curious as to who dared to steal the professor's chair. They all knew that it was basically his only mode of transportation and always had it on hand. Or apparently _almost _always since it had wound up in Miss Elektra's classroom.

Black*Star was doing his best not to cry out with a mix of anger pride. He'd only agreed to steal the chair because he'd wanted to mess with the professor, but no one had told him that they'd be putting it in Miss Elektra's room. This was probably an attempt at getting the two together, and he didn't want to be any part of that.

"Well since no one's confessing," Evar said loudly, "Looks like I'll have to go get Professor Stein and have him read all your souls to tell me who did it."

All the students gulped. They pitied the poor guy who'd stolen the chair.

The woman left the room to go find Stein, the students erupting into conversation the second the door closed.

"Who do you think did it?"

"Whoever it was must be an idiot."

"The professor always has that chair! How'd they manage to get it?"

Black*Star got up and started to leave the room.

"Black*Star!" Tsubaki cried, "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna get punished," he called, "Might as well have some fun first."

Tsubaki and the other sweat-dropped as the boy left the room to follow their teacher. He was already in trouble, and whatever he was going to do would only put him in a worse situation. Then again, Black*Star didn't really understand anything about consequences.

* * *

><p>The young assassin snuck along the halls of the academy in absolute silence, erasing his breath. If he was going to do this, he couldn't afford to mess it up. Even better, if he pulled it off he'd become an ever bigger star than he already was.<p>

"Stein," Evar's voice called, "Hang on a sec."

Black*Star stopped in his tracks. They were just around the corner. Though he couldn't see souls, his hearing was good enough to determine that it was only the two teachers in the hall. Perfect.

"Evar? Aren't you supposed to be teaching?"

Evar? Black*Star furrowed his brows. He'd never heard his teacher's first name. It was weird. _Just_ _like her and the professor, _he thought.

"Yeah, but I found something of yours in my classroom."

Now was the time. He had to do it before they came around the corner. He closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as possible. This was it. This was his moment.

_Speed Star._

The boy flew around the corner and past the teachers, almost running into Miss Elektra he was so close. He'd run so fast that he caused a wind to pick up, blowing the two adults' hair quite forcefully. But that wasn't all that blew. Evar's skirt flew up quickly, causing her to cry out in horror. She pushed it down as fast as possible, but not fast enough. Stein's face colored slightly at the sight of the black fabric that had just been exposed and he instantly looked away.

_First I walked in on her and now this? _Stein thought. _What on earth is going on?_

"Yahoo!"

Black*Star had accomplished what he'd set out to do and felt pretty damn good about it. He was going to be humiliated because of Miss Elektra, so why not humiliate her as well? It seemed pretty fair.

Evar turned around, her eyes dark and narrow. She knew who that was; there was no mistaking his voice.

"Black*Star…" she hissed.

Stein looked back at her, relieved that her skirt hung on her properly and wasn't showing what he'd just seen. She was hunched over slightly, still grabbing the bottom of her skirt and pulling it down. Her attention was behind her, pointed at Black*Star who had stopped at the end of the hall for some unknown reason.

"_You're in so much trouble!"_ she screeched.

The professor watched intrigued as the woman darted after him screaming, Black*Star tearing off and yelling in fear. Hmm. Who knew she could be so frightening? Oh well. Black*Star had it coming anyway after he'd stolen the chair.

"Not the brightest, is he?" Stein said to himself.

Well, at least now he wouldn't have to come up with a punishment. He'd leave that to Evar.

* * *

><p>All of the students looked at the blackboard mortified. Black*Star had been hung there by his shirt in the same fashion he had when he cheated on the super written exam. Again, he was quite bloody and messed up. This time he also seemed to have some electrical burns across his face and arms. Tsubaki screamed at the sight.<p>

"This is what happens when you're stupid," Evar hissed, "Any questions?"

The room was deathly still.

"Good. Now study something while I take Professor Stein's chair back."

Once she left, Maka and the others suddenly felt less confident in their plan. They didn't know Miss Elektra could get so… scary. Maybe trying to forcibly set her up wasn't such a good idea.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Evar: How come I was half naked throughout this enitre chapter?<em>**

**_Heretsu: I don't know, but I'm glad I wasn't there to see it. _**

**_Evar: _****_I'd hope my brother wasn't there to see it._**

**_Heretsu: Besides, you're nowhere near as hot as Blair! She makes you look like a flat-chested little kid!_**

**_Evar: *Evar Chop!*_**

**_Heretsu: Ow! What the hell? When did you get your own chop?_**

**_Evar: That's for me to know and you to find out._**

* * *

><p><strong>Yup so that's it for now! This was a fun chapter to write, especially that last part with Evar and Heretsu ^^ Well, I don't have much to say except please review! Thanks!<strong>


	8. Shadow Witch: A Grown Up First Kiss?

**Hi agian! I know I said I started school (it sucked, but oh well) but I got an idea for a new chapter, so here it is! Hope you like it!**

Chapter 8

"Excuse me," a cheery voice said.

Stein looked up from his desk to see an unfamiliar face. It was a young woman, one he hadn't seen around the academy. Then again, she looked just a little too old to be attending the DWMA. She had long, white hair that had been tied up into a large braid that almost reached her feet. She had a black shirt on as well as some white shorts; the opposite of Evar. Her eyes were a dull gray, but they seemed friendly enough.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

The woman giggled as if he'd said something funny.

"I'm just looking for my sister," she said, "She goes here, so I thought I'd check this classroom."

"But it's empty."

"Are you a teacher here then?"

The scientist noticed her quick change in topic. Was she trying to avoid something?

"Yes," he answered, "I'm Professor Stein. And you are?"

"Oh, silly me! I'm… Uso. Well, I need to go find my sister now. It was nice meeting you."

She offered her hand, which Stein looked at warily. They'd hardly spoken and now she was expecting physical contact? He sighed. There was no way of getting out of it without seeming mean.

He extended his arm and shook hands with her, receiving a frightfully large smile from the woman. It felt like something shocked him in the process, but he ignored it. It was probably just static.

"Bye!" the woman called before leaving the room.

_Well that was odd, _Stein thought. Then again, things seemed to be a little strange lately.

After leaving Professor Stein's room, the young woman let a vicious smirk appear on her face. She picked the end of her braid up and selected the one strand of hair that was black and not white. A hissing sound filled the air as she pulled on the strand, until it came all the way out of the braid. The hair then turned into what looked like a thin snake, floating in front of her face.

"Did you do it, Kage?" the snake hissed.

"Yes," she replied, "I implanted my shadow inside Screw-Head. Now I can see everything he does whenever necessary. And I can show it to you through this handy snake you gave me."

"Perfect. What about the girl?"

Kage's eyes narrowed.

"That's going to be trickier," she muttered, "I can't approach her directly; she'll recognize me and expose us. We need a pawn… someone who she would never suspect of causing her harm."

"The cat?" the snake suggested.

"No… he cares for her and would never hurt her, despite what he says."

"Then we need someone who we can easily manipulate. Someone who's more afraid of us than of Stein and Evar."

"We're pretty threatening, aren't we?"

"But so is Stein… wait a minute… I know exactly who we can use."

* * *

><p>Crona really wasn't ready to actually go out on a mission. He'd only just gotten used to being at the DWMA and now they were sending him to collect kishin egg souls. This was too much! He couldn't deal with this!<p>

"Hey, don't worry," Soul suddenly said.

The timid boy looked over at the much more confident Weapon who was walking beside him. He gave the Meister a reassuring smile, though it was a little frightening seeing the boy's sharp teeth. Still, he was grateful.

Lord Death had sent Soul and Maka to join him on this first mission since doing it alone would be much too difficult. Professor Stein and Miss Elektra were also there to supervise and make sure Crona didn't do anything against the academy again. They knew he was a good kid, but it was only a precaution.

"It'll be fine, Crona," Maka added, "And we're in Greece! Look, isn't the ocean so relaxing?"

The boy turned his head slightly. From where they were walking, the ocean was slightly visible in the dim dusk. It lapped against the shore gently, ever so peaceful. Maka was right. It really was relaxing.

As the three teens walked and talked, Stein and Evar stayed back a few feet. It was the kids' mission and they were only there to watch and make sure nothing went wrong. The less the students noticed them, the better. But still, something about this place made Evar feel… different.

She looked away from the mesmerizing ocean and turned to Stein, who was looking straight ahead as he let out a puff of smoke.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend, Stein?"

The scientist came to an abrupt halt, taking the cigarette between his fingers and looking at her in total confusion.

"What on earth possessed you to ask that?"

"I was just looking at the ocean… and you know how there's all those pictures of couples holding hands walking on the beach?"

"Not really."

"Well… there are and it just made me think about relationships and love and stuff."

"So you ask me if I've ever had a girlfriend?"

"I think it makes sense."

Stein took another drag from his cigarette, staring at her. No one had ever asked him that or even brought up that topic. Evar was certainly a strange woman for bringing that up just by looking at the ocean.

"No, I haven't," he replied, "No woman has ever expressed any sort of interest in me."

"Oh…"

"You sound surprised."

"Well, you're a pretty cool guy, you know. And since you're the best Meister ever, you'd think there'd be women drooling at your feet."

He reached up and turned the screw in his head, responding without even say anything. Yeah, a giant screw going through someone's head probably wasn't a huge turn-on.

"What about you?" he asked, "Has Evar ever been in love?"

She pushed him playfully at his sly remark, surprised to hear a chuckle under his breath. Hmm. Stein hadn't really seemed like the playful type. Then again, he was full of surprises.

"No, I haven't," she sighed, "After I dropped out of the academy… well let's just say I didn't have time for men."

"So does that mean you've never been kissed?"

Evar blushed slightly and looked away.

"And you say I'm random," she mumbled.

"I wasn't being random," he shot back, "My question was completely related to our discussion. And since I answered your question, you answer mine."

She hesitated before answering. Was she really going to tell him the truth? It was pretty embarrassing and she hadn't actually admitted it to anyone. But Stein was her partner and she could trust him.

"No," she whispered, "I haven't been kissed."

"Neither have I."

They looked at each other for a minute. Both of them were grown adults who had yet to give away their first kiss. Stein didn't mind; he wasn't a very affectionate person anyway. But it frustrated Evar more than it should have.

"A first kiss is so stupid!" she declared, "Why do people make such a big deal about it? It's ridiculous! I wish I could just get it over with!"

"Really?" Stein asked, "From what I hear it's a big deal… you just want it to be over and done?"

"Yes! It's so overly hyped up! I could kiss a frog and I'd be perfectly content!"

At that, Evar suddenly found herself being pulled to the side by her sleeve, her body twisting towards Stein's unexpectedly. He bent down and placed his lips gently on top of hers, causing her to squeak in shock.

What? Stein was kissing her? Why? This didn't make any sense! But…

She couldn't deny that it felt nice. His lips were chapped and rough, but she didn't mind. The fact that they were gentle on top of hers made it better. Though just as she began to kiss back, he pulled away and let go of her sleeve.

"You're right," he said with no emotion, "That is overhyped."

Evar blinked in response.

"You said you wanted to get it over with," Stein explained, "And I wanted to get it out of the way as well. Killed two birds with one stone."

The woman finally managed to find her voice.

"So… you just did it… to get it over with?"

"You said you wanted to get it out of the way. Just thought I'd help out."

"No, I don't… I mean, thanks and all, but… after we just talked about never having relationships."

"I guess we can still look. But now the uneasiness of a first kiss is out of the way."

"Stein–"

"_Ahh!"_ a voice cried.

The adults looked away, instantly recognizing the voice. Crona. He must have found the kishin egg. The two of them had stopped and lost sight of the students; exactly what they weren't supposed to do.

"Let's go," Stein said firmly.

"But–"

"Come on, Evar. They might need us."

She stood still and stared at him. This man, the man who she'd just given her first kiss to… felt nothing. It meant nothing. Just like she said it had. So why did she feel so empty inside?

"Okay," she breathed, "I'm ready."

* * *

><p>Heretsu sighed as he looked out the window. The moon was out, as creepy as always, casting an eerie glow over Death City.<p>

"Geez, this place is like Halloween Town or something," he mumbled to himself.

Even though he'd lived there for a while now, he still couldn't really adjust to the place. It was so… weird. All the people seemed to be crazy, it was easy to get lost and Evar seemed to actually _like _that wacko, Stein. The only thing good about this was being with Tsubaki and getting fed all her delicious meals.

"Still," he sighed, "I wonder what's going on to my little sis. It's been a while since I've seen her… for all I know Stein could've dissected her…"

A shiver went up his spine. He never trusted that psycho. Who could trust a guy who always wanted to cut things open, anyway? Maybe it'd be a good idea to go check on her. It was his job as a big brother to watch out for her.

Just as he was about to hop out of the open window, Tsubaki and Black*Star came home, which meant dinner.

_Evar can wait a few minutes,_ Heretsu thought.

"Sparky!" Tsubaki called.

Heretsu cringed at the name, but obediently jumped down from the window sill and trotted over to Tsubaki, rubbing his face against her legs as he always did. The girl smiled while Black*Star just stuck his tongue out at the cat.

"Why don't you go play with Blair or something?" he snorted.

"Maka, Soul and Crona went on a mission," Tsubaki answered as she lifted the cat up, "So Blair probably ran off to find a place to stay until they come back."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. And Miss Elektra went with the professor to supervise… that sucks for her."

_So she is okay. Well that's a relief. And I actually agree with Black*Star for once… I'd hate to be stuck with Stein._

"Stop it," Tsubaki scolded, "Have you forgotten the plan?"

_Plan? What plan?_

"I wish I could forget," Black*Star scoffed, "I don't get why you want Miss Elektra to be with him anyway! Professor Stein will just make her crazy!"

_Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Evar and… Stein!_

"I think it'll be good for them," Tsubaki said as she pet a suddenly fidgety Sparky, "Maybe they'll come back as a couple and we won't have to try and do it ourselves!"

"_Meow!"_

Heretsu leapt from Tsubaki's arms and ran to the door, scratching at it fiercely.

_No! No, Evar can't be with Stein! He's insane! They aren't compatible! And I am _not _having that wacko as my brother-in-law!_

"Sparky, what's wrong?" Tsubaki called as she ran over to him.

_No! They can't! That goes against nature! It's so wrong on so many levels!_

"Come on, let's get some food in you," Tsubaki sighed as she lifted the cat up.

…_I'll deal with my sister's horrible taste in men after I taste some of Tsubaki's fish! Yes!_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Heretsu: I'm back! Finally!<em>**

**_Evar *whispering*: Men suck... heartless bastards..._**

**_Heretsu: What's your problem?_**

**_Evar: You are my problem!_**

**_Heretsu: Whatever. Just stay away from Dr. Crazy and I honestly don't care what you say. _**

**_Evar: You have fat ankles._**

* * *

><p><strong>Hmm, well that's it for now. I doubt I'll be updating so quickly, but who knows, maybe I will. Oh! I forgot to mention the kiss! To explain, I know people who think first kisses are over-rated and stupid (like Evar) and they just want to get it done with to forget about it. And after hearing her complaints, Stein only did what she wanted. Although Stein's much more attractive than a frog *hehe* But he's kind of clueless, so don't get too excited about fluff yet. It'll come in time. So, I guess that's it! Please review guys! Love you and see you soon!<strong>


	9. Evar's Bravery: The Doc's Temptation?

**Hi there everyone. I know I said that I probably wouldn't update for a while, but I'm kind of on a roll with the ideas right now, so might as well use them! Hope you like it!**

Chapter 9

Evar watched the battle from over Stein's shoulder, due to the fact that she was in her scythe form and he wasn't fighting. To be honest, she was rather relieved to only be supervising. This thing was scary.

It looked like some kind of scorpion creature, though instead of a stinger on the end of its tail there was a sharp blade that was able to attack while it used its claws to defend itself.

Maka, Soul and Crona seemed to be handling it well though. Crona was attempting to disable the blade on the kishin egg's tail while Maka distracted it in the front by swinging Soul around in front of its face.

"This thing's creepy," she muttered, "I don't remember the kishin egg souls having such a frightening appearance…"

"It varies from soul to soul," Stein replied, "And they've always looked similar to this; you probably just don't remember since it's been a while."

"Whatever. I just know that I never fought anything this freaky."

"Don't be such a baby. Our job is to supervise, not assist. Even if something happens, you are to stay here, Evar. Understood?"

"Yes."

Evar didn't exactly like taking orders, but Stein was her Meister so she didn't have much of a choice. She was also still slightly shell-shocked from the unexpected kiss he'd given her. He acted like he hadn't any feelings, but Stein was always like that. It was impossible to read him. How was she supposed to act once this was done?

Stein placed a cigarette between his lips as he searched in his lad coat for a match. It wasn't like he'd be intervening in the battle taking place, so it was safe to take a quick smoke. He blew a puff of smoke and looked up at the moon, perched precariously in the dark night.

_I wonder if she thought that my breath smelled bad, _he thought to himself.

After all his years of smoking, his breath didn't exactly smell very fresh.

_It probably did… not like I can do anything about it now._

But she had smelled quite nice actually. No particular fragrance or anything; just simply pleasant. She didn't seem like the kind of woman who would drown herself in perfume. Stein appreciated that; he didn't want to gag on the fumes whenever he got near her.

Meanwhile, Crona was attempting to sever the kishin egg's tail so that Maka wouldn't have to worry about getting hurt as she fought the thing from the front. But it seemed like the tail had its own eyes. It always managed to dodge just as Ragnarok was about to slice through it.

"Come on, Crona, get it!" Ragnarok yelled, "If you don't cut this thing off, we're gonna die!"

"I'm trying!" Crona cried, "It's hard!"

Though just as those words came from the boy's lips, the Demon Sword went right through the middle of the kishin egg's tail, causing the whole thing to disappear. Crona stared in awe for a moment.

"I did it," he breathed.

"You mean _we _did it," Ragnarok snapped.

Stein nodded in approval. The boy had done well. Now he didn't Maka's assistance.

"Pull out, Maka," he called, "Crona can handle it from here."

The girl looked up and noticed that the threatening tail was no longer there, and smiled softly. She was so proud of Crona. He really was doing great.

Maka quickly slashed at the kishin egg one more time before rolling out of the way to allow Crona to finish it off. It was his mission after all, not theirs. But just as she thought she was safe, something clamped around her waist and hoisted her into the air.

"Maka!" Soul cried.

The kishin egg had lashed out with one of its claws and grabbed her, its pincers causing blood to flow from her waist as they tightened. Crona had just managed to get to the front of the kishin egg, only to discover that his best friend was in danger. He started swinging Ragnarok at the beast's arm instead of focusing on destroying it.

"Stein, we need to help them," Evar said nervously, "Maka and Soul are in trouble."

"Lord Death specifically said not to interfere with this," he answered, "We are here to watch."

Evar wanted to argue, but she knew that she couldn't. She'd never win against Stein. But the kids were in trouble! They were her students, she couldn't let them get hurt.

Crona seemed to be handling self fine though, avoiding the kishin egg's other claw and still managing to land blows on the arm that held Maka and Soul. It looked like the odds of him winning were actually pretty good.

But, unbeknownst to them, the kishin egg's tail was starting to grow back. It grew slowly so as not to draw attention to it. This way its enemies would be completely unaware about it and the kishin egg could finish them off easily.

As Crona hacked at the beast's arm, Evar glanced over and noticed that the monster's tail had somehow come back, the blade even bigger this time. It was starting to rise over its head, aiming at Crona.

"Stein!" she screamed.

The scientist looked up and saw the tail as well, catching his breath in surprise. Crona didn't stand a chance against that thing. But he wasn't allowed to do anything… he couldn't.

There was a strange feeling in his hand and he looked to see that Evar was no longer in his grasp. His eyes widened and he looked back at the kishin egg just as Evar reached Crona.

"Evar!" he yelled.

But he was too late. Evar flung herself at Crona, wrapping her arms around the boy's tiny body. The blade came down quickly, slicing open her back, making her shriek in pain. She and Crona rolled away a few feet until they came to a halt, Crona lying on top of her.

"Miss Elektra!" Maka gasped.

The kishin egg took a few steps towards the two, raising its tail higher in the air. This would be the final blow. Just as the tail started to swing down, something touched it's free claw.

"No one hurts my Weapon and lives," a voice hissed.

The tail stopped for a moment and turned towards the voice. A man, someone it hadn't seen before. He was standing right there, just begging to be killed. After this, he'd finish off the others.

Stein stared at the blade as it came closer to him.

"Soul Force."

A powerful current shook the kishin egg's body, paralyzing its nerves and stopping its heart. It screeched and thrashed for a moment before it dissolved, leaving only its soul behind.

Maka dropped to the ground, clutching her injured waist. Damn, that thing had held onto her hard. Soul transformed back into his human form, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Maka, are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she breathed, "Miss Elektra…"

They both looked over to see Professor Stein running over to Miss Elektra and Crona, tearing his lab coat off and clutching it in his hand.

Crona was trembling violently. He stared down at Miss Elektra, who wasn't moving at all. Blood was rapidly pooling beneath her, staining her white shirt scarlet. Despite that, her arms were still wrapped around him protectively, refusing to leave him vulnerable.

_Why did she do that?__ Why'd she protect me like that? I don't understand. _

"Move."

The boy looked and saw Professor Stein there, looking down at him with a serious look on his face. Crona quickly scrambled off the teacher, her arms falling to her sides and into the small puddle of blood.

Stein knelt down beside his partner and searched for a pulse. His eyes widened and he looked at her face slightly panicked.

"Don't do this, Evar," he hissed, "You can't die after doing something that stupid just to help someone. You're stronger than that."

Soul and Maka went over to the others, gathering around to make sure Miss Elektra was alright.

"Is she g-g-gonna b-be o-okay?" Crona asked nervously.

Stein cautiously flipped her over onto her back to inspect the wound. His eyes widened slightly. The blade had hit her first in the left shoulder and had gone all the way down to her right hip. Her shirt was sticky with blood, clinging to her even though it was completely ripped in half.

"I can sense her soul, but it's very weak." Stein answered, "It's a deep wound; we're lucky that the blade didn't go completely through her… But we do need to get her back to Death City as soon as we can."

He carefully peeled her shirt off, ordering Crona and Soul to look away as he did. Once it was off, he threw the bloody garment to the side, wrapping his lab coat around her instead. It was big, so he was able to wrap it over her chest in the front in an attempt to hide the fact she was shirtless.

"We need to go now," Stein said as he picked her up carefully, "I need to operate quickly."

Maka and Soul nodded, going off to find some sort of quick transportation back to the academy. Crona fidgeted uneasily as Professor Stein shifted Miss Elektra in his arms, trying to hold her in a way that wouldn't make the wound any worse.

"W-w-why did she d-d-do th-that?" Crona murmured.

Stein looked over at Crona, making the boy jump nervously.

"She was stupid," he answered flatly, "She deliberately disobeyed my orders."

The boy started to cower in fear. He didn't want Professor Stein to blame him for this! It wasn't like he'd asked Miss Elektra to help him.

"But I will say that I'm proud to have her as a partner."

Crona looked over at Stein, who was watching Evar intently. He actually almost seemed worried about her.

"She risked her life for someone else's," Stein explained, "And not even her Meister's… it's hard to find people like that nowadays."

"I… I didn't mean to get her hurt," Crona whimpered.

"It's not your fault, Crona. I think she just has a soft spot for you."

The boy's eyes widened. Someone had a soft spot for him. But why? There wasn't any reason anyone should like him…

"Well it's her fault if she dies," Ragnarok scoffed as he popped out of Crona's back, "We didn't need any help."

Stein narrowed his eyes at the Demon Sword, causing Crona to cringe. The professor turned and started to head after Maka and Soul.

Crona looked down at the ground. Miss Elektra's blood was spilled all over the place, staining the grey cobblestone a deep crimson. It seeped into the grooves between each stone, turning a slightly darker color and almost taking a shape. He tilted his head, trying to see what it was.

The blood in the grooves darkened more, forming in a shape that looked like a coil. No. Not a coil, but… it looked like it had a head… and a tail…

A snake.

"Oh, no, Miss Elektra!" he gasped.

The snake in the blood hissed, making Crona shriek.

"You can't tell anyone," it ordered, "Or the other snakes will kill Stein _and _her."

"B-b-b-but y-you never g-got n-near h-h-her!" Crona protested.

"No, I didn't. But I have power over someone else… you're so helpful, Crona."

* * *

><p>Stein couldn't help but stare. It was right there. The smooth skin already sliced open, asking him to look inside…<p>

He shook himself forcefully, getting the thought out of his head. This was Evar; he couldn't dissect his partner. He was supposed to be sewing her up, not cutting her open.

_Oh, but doesn't it look fun?_

Stein whirled around at the sound of Medusa's voice, expecting to see her standing right behind him. It took him a moment to realize that it was only in his head. Right now, it was just him and Evar in his lab. He was to focus on healing her and nothing else.

_But this is what you've been waiting for. Dissection is what you do best, Stein. Don't try to fight it._

"Shut up," he growled.

When the voice didn't respond, he turned his attention back to Evar. She was still unconscious; she hadn't woken up since she'd taken the blow. Stein had cleaned the blood off of her and gotten her into a hospital gown that he kept in case of emergency.

He gently touched her back, a few inches away from the wound. Her skin was so soft. His finger began to drag along her back, tracing around the bones and muscles curiously. How he wanted to explore…

The hand jerked back quickly, as if it had been shocked. Stein mentally scolded himself. He just had to stitch her up and he wouldn't have to be in this situation anymore.

"I wouldn't be in it in the first place if you hadn't been so stupid," he grumbled as he began to stitch her back up.

_Why are you doing this? Take advantage of the situation. You can dissect her right here, right now._

Stein hesitated and gripped the needle in his hand tightly. She was never going to get out of his head. What would it take to make her go away?

He looked at Evar's wound. It was only about halfway stitched, the gash still open near her hip. His free hand lingered towards it slowly. He slid one finger into the wound. Indeed, the wound was quite deep; he could fit half his finger into it. How fascinating.

His thumb slipped in after his finger, not minding the feel of her blood and muscle. The two fingers pushed opposite directions, opening the wound more so he could see better. Yes, that was nice. But what else was there to explore?

Wait a minute.

Again, he yanked away from her, this time stumbling away and banging into the wall so hard that his medical tools on the table beside Evar shook.

"Damn it, what am I doing?" he yelled.

_You're doing what you were born to do. Stop denying it. Keep going!_

Stein grabbed at his hair, yanking on it as if that would get Medusa out of his head. No. He would _not _let the madness consume him again. He'd already hurt Marie when she was his partner; he wouldn't do it to Evar, too.

He regained his composure and went back to Evar, sewing the rest of the wound up as quickly as possible. Despite Medusa's yelling in his head, he managed to completely stitch Evar's wound. He sighed and fell back into his chair once he was done, looking up at the ceiling.

"I don't understand… There isn't a kishin alive to cause my madness to be so… significant… There isn't anything else that can amplify madness wavelengths so greatly… is there?"

"Ow… why does my head feel like… hell?"

Stein sat up straight and saw Evar sitting up slowly, rubbing her head. Well the anesthetics had lasted just the right amount of time, apparently. How convenient.

He reached in his lab coat and pulled out a cigarette, sticking it in his mouth.

"You just went through an operation," he explained, "You're probably not going to feel very good for a little while."

Evar looked over, surprised to see Stein sitting there. Weren't they in Greece? How did she get back to his lab? Oh, that's right… she jumped in front of Crona.

She looked down and noticed that when she'd sat up, some of her hospital gown had fallen forward, exposing her hip and some of her rear. Her eyes narrowed at Stein.

"Why am I naked?" she demanded.

"I had to operate on you and I can't do that when you're dressed," Stein said calmly as he got off his chair, "And calm down, you still have underwear on."

She just glared at him more. After he'd walked in on her that one time and when Black*Star had "pranked" her, she wasn't very comfortable with revealing herself in front of Stein.

"I'm not like Spirit," Stein added, "I wouldn't… do that kind of thing."

Evar looked away and adjusted her gown to cover herself up as best as she could.

"I know," she muttered, "I actually trust you. Still, I just don't want you to see me all… you know."

His face fell slightly. She trusted him… and yet he'd still almost dissected her.

"That's understandable… The stitches might be sensitive for a while, so take it easy, okay?"

"Okay. And, um, thanks by the way."

Stein looked away from her.

"You really shouldn't be thanking me," he grumbled.

She furrowed her brows as he started to head for the door. But just as he passed her table, she managed to reach out and grab his sleeve, making him stop. He turned and looked at her, no emotion in his face. She tugged down on his sleeve, jerking his head down. Without a word, she planted her lips on his cheek, along the line of stitches that lied there.

Stein's eyes widened in shock. Earlier she had complained that the concept of a first kiss was ridiculous and now… now she had kissed him? It wasn't a true kiss, but still. He didn't understand.

"Thank you," Evar repeated.

He hesitated before answering.

"You're welcome…"

She let go of his sleeve and lay back down on the operating table, closing her eyes.

"Can you believe that I'm tired after I was unconscious for all that time?" she asked with a small laugh.

Stein didn't respond. Instead, he walked to the door quietly, thinking.

"Sleep well, Evar."

With that, he left, closing the door slowly so as not to bother Evar. But he didn't need to worry about that. She'd already fallen asleep with a smile on her face.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Maka: I hope Miss Elektra's going to be okay...<em>**

**_Soul: Don't worry about it. She's gotta be tough to be Stein's partner._**

**_Maka: You're right... but I'm still worried. It's like what happened to you._**

**_Soul: Oh, come on, don't bring that up, I'm fine._**

**_Maka: But-_**

**_Soul: Forget it, Maka. Worry about Miss Elektra, not me._**

* * *

><p><strong>Wow, kind of an intense chapter o.O I didn't even realize that until now! Well, <em>Soul Eater <em>has a lot of intense moments, so this is mine! There will probably be more, along with the normal humor and fluff. So, please review and I'll see you later! Love ya!**


	10. New Home: The Snake Inside Miss Elektra?

**Hello once again! I know that I said I wouldn't be updating a lot lately but this has been a really boring weekend and I've had lots of ideas for this story, so I'm just going to update again! After this, though, school's probably going to pick up, so don't expect more everyday updates. Well as I was saying... On with the fic!**

Chapter 10

There was a loud knock at the door, stirring Evar from her sleep. She groaned and sat up reluctantly. Her eyes lingered to the cause of the noise and saw Stein poking his head inside the room.

"You have a visitor," he said.

"Oh? Who is it?"

Stein opened the door wider, revealing a very nervous Crona standing behind him.

A smile lit up the woman's face as she beckoned them in. Stein pushed Crona forward gently, causing him to gasp in surprise.

"Hi, Crona," Evar said quietly, "It's nice to see you. How are you?"

The boy wearily walked over to the side of the bed, Stein staying by the door to light a cigarette.

"I'm f-f-fine," Crona stammered, "I was w-worried about y-y-you…"

Evar smiled and placed her hand on the boy's head, making him flinch. He wasn't used to such affection.

"I'm alright," she replied, "Stein stitched me up and I'm as good as new."

She gave him a reassuring smile to prove her point. But Crona still didn't understand. He didn't get why she'd risked her life to save him like that. Like Professor Stein said, it had been reckless and stupid. So why do it?

"W-w-why did y-you d-d-do it?" he asked.

The woman just smiled and pat Crona on the head.

"You're a good kid, Crona. If I had a child, I imagine that they'd be a lot like you. So how could I let someone like that get hurt? It would be like watching my own child get injured and I could never let that happen."

Crona stared at her for a long time. She saw him as her own child practically. He had to admit that he didn't mind her saying that. She'd always been so good to him. She never judged him or his past, she'd always helped him with assignments if he didn't understand, she didn't let anyone bully him… In a way, she was almost like a mother to him.

Evar gently pat the side of the bed, asking Crona to sit beside her. He obeyed, still daydreaming about what it'd like to have someone like her as a mother.

"You know, Crona," she breathed, "I know how you mentioned that it was crowded over at Soul and Maka's since they have Blair and all… If you'd like, you could always stay here."

Crona's eyes widened in awe. She was inviting him to stay with her… it was like he was being adopted.

Stein allowed a small smile to form on his lips. He and Evar had discussed this beforehand; they both figured the boy would come to see her anyway. Stein had been disgusted with Medusa after she said she was going to abandon her child and had wanted to make sure the boy would be okay. He seemed happy with Maka and Soul, but he often mentioned that he felt like a burden taking up so much space.

"I c-c-c-c-couldn't," Crona stammered, "I m-mean Maka a-a-and Soul have already been so nice… I don't want to b-bother you, too…"

"Don't be silly, Crona," Evar said warmly, "We'd love to have you. And Stein won't dissect you, don't worry."

"I make no promises," the scientist taunted as he blew out a puff of smoke.

Evar rolled her eyes and put a reassuring hand on Crona's shoulder.

"Ignore him. This house is plenty big enough."

Out of nowhere, Ragnarok popped out from Crona's back, making Evar smile. Most people were disgusted by the Demon Sword, but she'd grown quite used to him. She adjusted easily to the quirks of others now that she stayed with Stein.

"Can you cook?" Ragnarok answered.

"Well, Stein and I aren't the best cooks," Evar admitted, "But I could buy some cookbooks and work on it, if you'd like."

The Demon Sword scoffed a little and leaned down to rest on Crona's head.

"If she cooks, I'm in," he said, "And anything she makes has to be better than Maka's cooking."

"Maka's a good cook," Crona mumbled.

"Maybe for a stick like you, but some of us have to eat!"

Evar sweat-dropped as she watched the two of them fight. With Ragnarok, having Crona wouldn't be like having a normal child. But she didn't mind. She had a soft spot for the boy and wanted to protect him.

"I guess we could stay here," Crona murmured, "After all, it's my fault you're like this…"

"Oh, no it's not!" Evar sighed, "And in that case, I better start cooking."

"You need to rest, Evar," Stein argued, "I'll make something."

"Fine," Evar muttered, "Crona and I can stay here and talk until you're done."

Stein nodded and blew out another puff of smoke. He watched for a moment as his partner spoke to Crona, both of them actually looking comfortable with one another. It was probably a good thing that they'd invited him to stay here, for all of them.

* * *

><p>Evar jolted upright in bed, gasping for some unknown reason. It was the middle of the night. Crona had gone back to Soul and Maka's for one last night to gather his belongings. That only left her with Stein, who was most likely asleep in his room.<p>

Why was she so scared? She hadn't been having a nightmare, or had any strange thoughts… she'd just woken up terrified.

"It's probably just trauma," she told herself, "After the operation…"

A shadow suddenly darted along the wall, an evil cackle echoing in the room as it did. Evar gasped again and blinked, only to find that the shadow was gone and the laughter had stopped. What was happening?

She reached up to push some of her hair out of her face, but stopped once she felt it. It didn't feel like hair. No, this was… scaly. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw that her hair had turned into a nest of snakes, slithering down her back and neck.

As she started to scream, one of the snakes slid into her mouth, muffling her cries. She could only weep as the snakes bit at her back. Warm blood raced down her skin and onto the sheets, staining them red. The laughter returned, louder this time, and several shadows danced on the walls, evil grins on their faces.

Evar struggled to scream for help, but the snake was gagging her to a point that she was almost unable to breathe. One of the snakes bit at the scar on back, tearing out one of the stitches. It was the most painful thing Evar had felt in her life.

The other snakes joined in, nipping at the stitches and tearing the wound apart. It opened again, blood pouring down her back rapidly, sloshing loudly against the mattress.

"_You think you can handle Stein?"_ a menacing voice hissed.

Evar tried to respond, but the snake only went farther down her throat, making her gag.

"_This is who Stein is," _the voice continued, _"This is his madness. You'll never be able to understand him. Only I will."_

The snakes in Evar's hair started to burrow in her now open back, slithering between her bones and muscles.

"_You may have a pretty face and the attitude to tempt him, but it's a horrible decision. It's like a rat tempting the snake… Oh, darling, who do you think would win?"_

"Evar!"

The woman gasped and blinked to see that everything had disappeared. There were no snakes, no blood, no shadows… she was just in her room. However, Stein had barged inside after hearing her screams, realizing that something was wrong.

"Stein!" she breathed.

He raced over to the bed, climbing onto it without asking any questions. Evar began to weep hysterically, still in shock from the horrible nightmare. Stein wrapped his arms around her and pressed her face to his bare chest.

His madness must have started spreading to her. He didn't think it was possible, but the way she'd been screaming… she sounded almost as if she were possessed.

Evar clung tightly to Stein, her tears sliding down her cheeks and onto his skin. Her body was shaking violently and her breathing sounded forced.

"Snakes," she sobbed, "The snakes… were eating me… and the shadows… they laughed… at me…"

Stein tensed. Snakes? Medusa. But that didn't make sense. Evar had never even met Medusa. How could his madness cause her to have nightmares about Medusa?

He shook his head and held her tighter, putting one of his hands in her hair.

"It was a nightmare," he said calmly, "You're not hurt, okay? You're fine."

She sniffled and continued to cry against him. What had her dream meant? The voice had said that it was Stein… it was his madness. But it couldn't be. Stein wouldn't hurt her like the dream had. He'd never harm her.

"Don't go," she whimpered, "If you go the snakes will come back…"

Evar wasn't even sure if that was true, but it felt right in her gut. If he stayed here with her, she knew that she'd be safe. He'd protect her from the snakes.

Stein didn't respond and instead continued to hold her comfortingly.

For a long time they sat on her bed like that, the only sound being Evar's weeping. Slowly, they both began to slip back into sleep, neither really noticing. Evar was first, falling asleep while tucked in Stein's lap and clinging to him for safety.

At first, Stein thought he should leave. He didn't want her stuck in this awkward sleeping position. But she had asked him to stay… and if he moved her she'd probably wake up. He slowly hung his head, letting his eyes close. It wasn't the most comfortable position to fall asleep in, but he managed to accomplish it.

And, just as Evar had thought, the nightmare didn't return. Stein kept her safe from the snakes, shielding her in his arms.

* * *

><p>Medusa let a smug grin grow on her face as she watched what happened to that little brat who was trying to steal Stein from her. It was working wonderfully; the madness was spreading inside her.<p>

"Your shadows are quite convenient, Kage," she praised.

The other witch smiled and bowed her head respectfully. It was always an honor to be praised by such a powerful witch.

"When Stein kissed her, part of the shadow I put in him escaped through his mouth and went inside her," Kage explained, "And I also planted one of your snakes in this shadow. Lucky for us, it went inside Evar."

"And now it's intensifying the madness inside her," Medusa finished, "Before long she won't be able to handle it. She's nowhere near as strong as Stein; she'll fall quickly."

"It's even better because you help control the madness, Medusa. Your snake does something right?"

"Yes. I can see through my snake inside her and therefore see everything she sees while she's engulfed in the madness. This way, I can influence what she sees and hears as well."

"But then Screw-Head came in."

Medusa frowned and looked over her shoulder at Kage. The two were in her old castle, despite the slight ruins it was left in.

"Madness is most effective when one is alone," Medusa hissed, "When Stein came in he blocked off my ability to influence the madness and weakened it as well."

"Then how do we stop him?" Kage inquired.

"We don't."

Kage sweat-dropped in confusion.

"With two teachers engulfed in madness at the DWMA," Medusa purred, "The academy will crumble… And then Stein will return to my side and Death will be defeated."

"And Evar?"

"I'm not sure how exactly, but she'll die. Perhaps we can make it into a game, even. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"Quite."

Medusa turned around and walked over to Kage, looking straight into her dull, gray eyes.

"Now we must get my minions back," she said, "And you're going to help me. Without Crona, we have less, but it should still be enough to bring down Death."

"Minions?"

"My assistants. They helped me revive the kishin. Since the Grand Witch thinks I'm dead, I can't show myself in front of other witches. You must go for me. Find a witch named Eruka and tell her that Medusa needs her. She'll know what to do."

"Yes, Lady Medusa."

Medusa grinned as the other witch grabbed her broom and went off to follow orders. She gave a slight chuckle, feeling herself regain her power.

"Oh, Stein," she sighed, "I bet you missed me. I hope so… I'm back."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Maka: Aw, I'm going to miss Crona.<strong>_

_**Soul: We'll still see him at school, Maka.**_

_**Maka: I guess...**_

_**Soul: Besides, I think it's good he's going with Miss Elektra and Professor Stein. You're boringness was starting to rub off on him.**_

_**Maka: *Maka-Chop!***_

_**Soul: Ow... my pride.**_

* * *

><p><strong>That's it for now! In case you couldn't tell, I <em>really <em>don't like Medusa so I'm sorry for all you SteinxMedusa fans out there, but I think she's kind of a bitch. But I doubt I'm the only one who thinks that. So, please review and I'll see you later! Byes!**


	11. So Many Snakes: Miss Elektra's Date?

**Hi there! It's been more than a day since I've updated, so sorry for the _horribly _long wait. ;) Well, I must warn you that this is a... strange chapter. It's kind of like two mashed into one, but at the same time they go together so it kind of makes sense? I don't know, hopefully you'll like it though!**

Chapter 11

The academy was buzzing with excitement. Not because of a new student or a sudden new enemy. No, this was much more exciting. This was the DWMA's annual Valentine's Day Dance!

And this wasn't just any dance. It was a rule (made up among the students) that one had to have a date in order attend this dance; anyone who went stag was labeled a freak for the rest of their attendance at the academy. Though the students mainly weren't so fierce to each other, things got scary when it came to Valentine's Day. No one really knew why… it just seemed like a competition for which boy could get the cutest and girl and which girl got the most invitations to the dance.

As with most romantic things, Evar thought this was ridiculous. She couldn't wrap her head around why students were so critical about a silly dance. It wasn't like it was the only dance they'd ever have. Getting vicious about it wasn't going to help anything.

The bell suddenly rang, pulling Evar from her thoughts and signaling the beginning of lunch. She grabbed her lunchbox from beneath her desk and stood up, heading out to her regular spot. At first, she'd eaten alone since she didn't really know the rest of the staff. Over time she was asked to join small groups of them, but never really fit in. She felt best where she ate now.

Stein had just lit a cigarette when Evar walked in, nodding at her in recognition when she greeted him. As he took a drag, Evar pulled up a chair and sat across from hit at his desk, throwing her lunchbox down in front of her.

"Do you ever stop?" she sighed as she looked at the cigarette.

Instead of answering, Stein blew a puff of smoke in her face, looking quite smug about it. Evar just batted her lashes teasingly.

"That's not nice," she said in a mockingly sweet voice.

"If you don't want to be around me, then don't eat with me," he challenged.

She shrugged and opened her lunchbox.

"No, you're fun to tease," she explained, "And if I wasn't with you, Spirit would be after me."

The woman shuddered. That man had been trying to win over since day one and still hadn't given up. When he set his eyes on a woman, there was no stopping him.

Stein smirked at this. Though Spirit was probably his friend, the scientist still had that eerie, unapproachable way about him, which Evar didn't seem to notice.

Evar reached over and plucked the cigarette out of his mouth, putting it out on the napkin next to her.

"I can't eat with it smelling like tar," she said when she saw his shocked expression.

The man just stared at her as she bit into her apple. No one had ever dared to take a cigarette from his mouth. And yet she had done it with such ease.

"You're weird," he muttered.

"You're one to talk," she shot back.

He responded by casually throwing a grape at her face, hitting her square between the eyes. The fruit rolled down her head and landed in the gap of her shirt directly between her breasts. Evar narrowed her eyes at Stein, who looked unfazed.

"Pervert," she grumbled as she reached down her shirt to fish out the grape.

At that moment, the door swung open and Spirit flew in, hearts in his eyes.

"Speaking of which," Stein chuckled.

"Evar, my lovely! Oh, how I've missed you! I'm sorry that we can't teach together, but my heart still beats for you! Evar I –"

Evar gaped in mortification as Spirit gawked at her, had hand in her shirt. For a moment it was silent, Spirit in awe, Evar in horror and Stein just because he could be.

The woman's free arm suddenly transformed into her electrically charged scythe, pointed directly at Spirit.

"Get out or I will kill you," she hissed.

Spirit put his hands up defensively, looking quite frightened by how close the scythe was to him.

"Hey now, don't be hasty," he said quickly, "I just wanted to ask something."

"Then ask it."

"Go to the dance with me!"

Again, silence.

To be honest, it wasn't horribly strange for Spirit to be asking her to the students' dance. All of the staff attended as chaperones and it was usually a pretty decent time. Occasionally some people went together, but it wasn't taken as near as seriously by them as it was by the students.

The silence was broken with Stein reaching over the desk and inserting his hand in Evar's shirt, picking the grape out.

"She's going with me," he said as he tossed the grape to the side.

Spirit's jaw dropped and Evar practically fell back in her chair.

"It was getting weird with your hand just stuck in your shirt like that," the scientist said casually.

"And what you just did wasn't weird at all?" Evar cried.

Stein just shrugged.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Spirit yelled, "What do you mean she's going with you? It's a couple's dance!"

"So?" Stein muttered, "We're going together. And quit it, Spirit, you sound like a child."

Spirit's jaw dropped to the floor with a thud. Evar managed to regain her composure, only to be freaking out on the inside.

_I'm going to a Valentine's Day dance with Stein? And since when did he ask me? I don't remember accepting!_

"B-b-b-but you _can't _be going with him!" Spirit wailed, "You just can't!"

"Well she is," Stein repeated, "Right, Evar?"

Evar looked over at Stein, who had a smug look on his face. When he gave her a subtle wink, she instantly understood.

_He's saving me... He's doing this so Spirit can't ask me out... Oh man, Stein, I owe you big time._

"Yeah," she answered, "Stein already asked me. Sorry, Death Scythe."

Spirit stared at them for a while. Those two? And when did Stein suddenly start asking out women? He'd never even had a girlfriend.

"Fine!" he cried, "I hope you two are happy together!"

With that, the Death Scythe stormed out of the room angrily, slamming the door behind him.

"It's hard to believe that man is older than me," Stein said as he shook his head.

"You're the one who threw a grape down my shirt," Evar pointed out.

"I threw it at your head. It fell in your shirt by itself. You can't blame me for that."

She rolled her eyes as she took another bite out of her apple.

"You're okay with going to the dance with me, right?" Stein asked.

Evar looked at him surprised with the apple still in her mouth.

"Now that Spirit thinks we're going together, we kind of have to," Stein explained.

"Oh," Evar breathed, "Yeah, I'm fine with going with you. And thanks for saving me from him."

"No problem. I could tell that you didn't seem very interested."

She smiled and chewed on the piece of apple in her mouth. It was nice of him to be looking out for her like that. And yet, the fact that he'd only asked her to stop Spirit hurt a little inside…

* * *

><p>It was dark outside, but Evar didn't mind. She'd been stuffed up in the academy all day and decided to go for a walk to get some fresh air. Crona was studying for a test and Stein was experimenting, so she was alone. Still, it was nice. It was a good time to focus on her thoughts.<p>

Her feelings about Stein were starting to confuse her. Yes, he was her Meister and yes, he was a friend, one of the few she had in the city. But was there something else?

He was her first kiss, even if it meant nothing to him. She claimed it didn't matter, but deep down, her heart said something different.

It was so easy to be around him. And despite his quirks, she accepted him just as he accepted her. He had to care for her… he'd saved her life after all. Though she'd been unconscious, she'd been told that Stein had been furious after the kishin harmed her and killed it with his soul force. After that, he'd instantly gone to tend to her injury and helped her heal.

She reached behind her shoulder, touching her shoulder where the stitches began.

"I think he cares about me," she murmured, "And I care about him, too…"

"Excuse me, lady?"

Evar whirled around surprised, only to see a little girl standing there with big brown eyes.

"Oh!" she gasped, "I didn't see you there. Are you ok?"

The girl seemed like she was lost. She had on a cute pink dress with matching sandals that had white flowers at the big toe. Her dirty blonde hair was fairly long, falling down her back as if she were a young Rapunzel.

"Yes," the girl breathed, "I'm fine. Are you?"

She cocked her head at Evar, her eyes turning curious. Evar hesitated a moment. Something about this girl seemed odd… a girl her age would be terrified if she was lost in Death City at night. Yet this girl… she seemed entertained almost.

"I'm fine," Evar finally said.

The girl smiled, but not in a way a girl should. Her teeth seemed bared in a wicked grin, her eyes narrowing.

"You won't be for long."

Before Evar could react, the girl's hair flew up and wrapped around the woman, binding her arms and legs. When she heard the hissing, Evar began to scream. The girl's hair had turned into her snakes, just how hers had in her nightmare. Only now this was real.

One of the snakes from the girl's hair darted around Evar's neck, squeezing it tight to keep her from yelling. The other snakes began to bite at her skin and clothes, tearing them apart.

"It's not safe to walk the streets at night by yourself," the girl said, "You're really stupid, huh?"

Evar struggled to break free, twisting and turning every way she could. But it was no use. Her blood was drenched all over her from the multiple snake wounds and her clothes were in shreds. This was even worse than the nightmare.

The snakes all suddenly released her, except for the one around her neck. Instead, it rose into the air, lifting Evar a few feet above the ground. She grabbed and clawed at the snake, trying to get it off of her; if it didn't let go she'd be hung.

"Stein," she managed to choke out.

The little girl's eyes narrowed and the snake tightened around Evar's neck, making her gasp for air.

"He's not here to help you now," she hissed, "He won't come. He doesn't care about you. Did you honestly think he did?"

Evar glared at the little girl. No, this had to be a witch. A witch possessing the little girl's body; there was no other explanation for such powerful magic. And whoever it was, this witch must have known who Stein was, or at least heard about him.

"He doesn't know how to love," the witch continued, "It's impossible for him. Were you hoping that you'd be special? That you'd be able to make him fall in love with you and you'd live happily ever after?"

The witch's sadistic grin grew as Evar's choking became louder, the air obviously almost completely out of her.

"This isn't a fairy tale, princess," the witch murmured, "Wake up!"

With that, the snake flung Evar away, throwing her into one of the stone buildings that were all over the city. Evar cried out as blood spurted from her mouth, crumpling up once she'd fallen to the ground. And then everything went black.

* * *

><p>Stein looked over at the clock. It'd been three hours since Evar had gone on her walk. Crona had gone to bed and even he had finished his experiments. What could she have possibly gotten into? She was probably fine, but…<p>

Against his judgment, Stein left his laboratory and went out to look for Evar. She'd said she wouldn't be gone more than an hour and now it was almost midnight. Stein wasn't that worried about her to be honest; she was a grown woman and could handle herself. But if something had happened to her…

"Snakes… snakes… blood… pain…"

Stein turned his head slightly and was horrified to see Evar lying crumpled on the ground, chewing on a piece of her hair and mumbling to herself. Her clothes were shredded, but there was not a scratch on her and not a single drop of blood.

"Evar?" Stein called as he walked cautiously towards her.

Judging by her actions, she didn't seem completely sane and he didn't want to risk setting her off. He knew just how powerful madness could be.

"So many snakes… all over… eating me… I must be delicious…"

Stein knelt down beside her and noticed a red ring around her neck, as if something had strangled her. He placed his hand carefully on her shoulder, not knowing what to expect.

Her body went still, and the piece of hair in her mouth fell to the ground.

"Evar, it's Stein," he said, "What happened?"

The woman's head turned to him very slowly, as if it was a strain to do so. Her eyes were dilated, the big blue irises staring at Stein's face. She reached up with one arm and grabbed the sleeve of his lab coat so forcefully that he went down slightly along with it. The other hand went up farther, into Stein's hair and grabbing a fistful of it.

"Stein…"

Her voice. Something about it sounded off. It was still her voice, but now she sounded like… like a child's. It was so weak and helpless… She didn't seem like a grown woman anymore.

"Help… me…"

Stein didn't know what to do. It was apparent that something was wrong with her and something had happened while she was out. But because he didn't know what it was, he didn't know what he was supposed to do.

All of a sudden there was a blur of black and pressure around Stein's limbs. He quickly looked and saw that Evar's hair had wrapped around him, tying him up. But wait, that wasn't hair… no, it looked more like snakes. Snakes…

Medusa.

Something suddenly wrapped around his neck, forcing him to look back at Evar; another snake. To his surprise, Evar was crying and struggling to move. However, she seemed to somehow be bound to the ground, incapacitated, her hand still in his hair and the other grabbing his lab coat.

"I'm not doing this," she whimpered, "I promise… It's her. She's using these snakes to keep us both trapped here… I'm sorry, Stein."

The scientist jerked away, trying to escape the shackles to no avail. It was completely hopeless. He and Evar were stuck here until Medusa showed her face.

There was a yanking on Stein's neck as the snake wrapped around it pulled down, bringing his face right above Evar's.

"I'm sorry!" she wept, "I'm not trying to hurt you… no, Stein, I care about you, I wouldn't –"

The snake tugged down more, pressing Stein's face onto hers. They both made surprised noises as their lips met and at first tried to pull away. Being tied up by snakes and facing death was not the time to have a make out session.

But when the snake around Stein's neck refused to budge, the two realized that they were kind of stuck here and might as well make it enjoyable.

Evar deepened the kiss first, opening her mouth slightly and then closing it over his lips. Stein was instantly intrigued. He'd never done this before; now was the time to experiment.

His tongue pressed against her lips, asking for entrance. Evar was wary at first, but eventually allowed his tongue inside. What a curious feeling. Stein's tongue explored her mouth curiously, searching all over the place. Evar's nervously moved and went to touch his, not knowing what else to do.

Oh, how interesting!

Now this was new, how intriguing. Stein let her tongue play nervously with his, wondering if this was normal. It seemed more animalistic than human, but perhaps that was how affection worked. Odd.

He slid his tongue out of her mouth and found that the snake had loosened its grip on his neck only slightly, still confining him to keep his face on top of Evar's. But now he could experiment a little more.

His lips pressed against the corner of her mouth, where that soft patch of skin resided. Hmm. One didn't even need to directly kiss the lips to show affection. Fascinating. They continued away from her mouth slightly, only managing to reach her jaw line.

"Do you care about me?" Evar breathed.

Stein lifted his eyes from her jaw and looked at her calmly.

"I think so," he answered, "But I can't be sure."

Evar's face twisted slightly, almost into something of disgust or hurt.

And then the snake constricted so hard that Stein's neck snapped like a twig.

* * *

><p>Evar jolted upright in bed, her hand flying to her neck. Even though it had been Stein's neck that broke in her nightmare, hers still felt sore.<p>

"These nightmares are getting scarier and scarier," she breathed.

She rubbed her neck and realized that she was both sweating and shaking.

"It was pretty creepy," she murmured, "But that part where Stein and I were kissing… it was so… real."

Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She suddenly felt extremely embarrassed. She shouldn't be having dreams like that; Stein was her Meister, not her lover. That wasn't right.

"Maybe it's all this Valentine's Day hype that's got my brain in a romantic mood," she suggested, "Yeah, that's probably it. But besides that, these snake dreams are just… ugh. I'll have to talk to Stein about it. Maybe he'll know what to do."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Maka: It seems like Miss Elektra is acting weird lately. I wonder if Stein's doing something to her.<em>**

**_Spirit: Yeah! He's hypnotized her and experimented on her and convinced her to go to the dance with him!_**

**_Maka: That's not exactly what I meant..._**

**_Spirit: There's no other explanation! Why would a woman choose him over me?_**

**_Maka: I can think of plenty of explanations for that._**

* * *

><p><strong>See? I warned you. After I finished that first part I went into "dream mode" and started going insane again. So, my apologies if these chapters are getting creepier, it's just me losing it. In case you couldn't tell, the second and third parts were a dream, even though they weren't italicizeed. There's a special reason for that that I'll explain later, but for now I'm just going to confuse you all. *cue Stein laughter* <strong>

**Speaking of which, my ringtone is Stein's crazy laughter... yeah, I know what you're thinking. "She's so cool!" That is until I'm babysitting little kids and freaky laughter from my phone gives them nightmares.**

**Anyway, I guess that's it! Please review; as always, I love your opinions! TTFN!**


	12. Fun With the Girls: A Hatred Revealed?

**Hello again! Hope you guys are enjoying the fic and all. I'm surprised how many people have it on Story Alert, so that makes me pretty happy. Sorry if that last chapter seemed kind of trippy, but it will be explained in the future! This is another fairly important chapter, so pay close attention!**

Chapter 12

As Evar sat at her desk grading papers early in the morning, she heard what sounded like the pitter-patter of paws. She looked to the side just as a feline leapt onto her lap, sitting on its haunches and staring up at her.

"Hello, Heretsu," she said, "What brings you here?"

She was surprised when she realized he didn't look as perky as usual. He looked quite serious, or as serious as a cat could look.

"You know that since I was turned into a cat by a witch," he said, "I've been able to sense witches better than any other Meister… even with their soul protect on."

"Are you saying there's a witch around?"

"I can't tell for sure; I'm not that amazing. But I've definitely noticed some strange souls around… just watch your back, okay?"

Evar sighed and began to pet Heretsu, earning a very loud purr from the cat.

"Thanks for the warning," she said sincerely, "But honestly I don't even want to deal with the possibility of a witch right now. It seems that this place is just plagued with crazy happenings… It's starting to wear me down."

"You're the one who decided to come back," he pointed out, "You know how weird this city is, sis."

"I guess I forgot just how weird it could get."

The cat rolled his eyes as she stopped petting him, instead folding her arms across her chest. He glanced up and noticed something strange.

"What happened to your neck?"

Evar quickly pushed her hair in front of her, attempting to hide it. But it was no use. Heretsu had seen what looked like a rope burn around her neck, healing but still pink.

"Nothing," she replied.

Heretsu narrowed his eyes. Obviously it wasn't nothing, but still. It seemed that his sister didn't even know how to explain the mark. Perhaps it would be better left without any discussion.

He hopped off her lap and trotted over to the door to leave.

"Be careful, Evar," he called.

She didn't respond. Instead, she brought her hand up to touch the sore part of her neck. It had appeared after her most recent nightmare, the one in which the snake had strangled her. But it had only been a nightmare. So how could she have a mark left from something that happened inside her head? What was happening to her?

She'd decided not to talk to Stein about it. If she was starting to lose her mind, there was no telling what Stein was going through. He seemed normal enough on the outside, but he'd dealt with madness before. He was probably better at controlling it.

"Miss Elektra?"

The woman looked up from her desk, surprised to see four girls standing there: Maka, Tsubaki, Liz and Patty.

"Hello, girls," she said sweetly in an attempt to cover up her confusion, "What can I do for you?"

"Well, we heard that Professor Stein asked you to the dance," Liz said.

"And we all got asked, too," Tsubaki added.

"So we were wondering if…" Maka started.

"_Will you go dress shopping with us?"_ Patty cried.

Evar stared. Her own students were asking her to go dress shopping with them? But why?

She scanned them quickly. She knew nothing about Tsubaki's parents, and as far as she knew Patty and Liz didn't have any. And Maka's mother had left Death City… none of them seemed to have a motherly figure.

They were all such good students; she really cared about each of them. It was sad to think they didn't have a mother to go dress shopping with. For some of them it could even be there first time going to a dance with a date.

"I'd love to, girls," Evar replied.

"Awesome," Liz said, "It'll be fun."

"Yeah!" Patty agreed, "It's going to be a blast!"

"Thank you so much, Miss Elektra," Tsubaki said meekly.

"This is great!" Maka cried, "The dance is in a couple days so we should go today after school! Does that work for you?"

"Sure," Evar responded, "You'll just have to let me tell Professor Stein that I won't be going straight home."

"Ok!" the girls all said together.

Just then, the warning bell for class to begin rang, signaling students to come in. The girls smiled and went over to greet their friends who were arriving.

Evar smiled and watched. She felt honored that they'd asked her to take them shopping. It gave her a maternal feeling that she'd been wanting to have for some time now.

_Hmm, they didn't tell me who asked them, _she thought. _Maybe when the other students come in I'll notice something…_

And she was right. Black*Star made it most obvious, being the loudmouth he was. He practically announced to the whole class that he was going with Tsubaki, who he claimed was the best Weapon on the planet.

The others were slightly harder to notice. Though Kid entered with both Liz and Patty, he kept looking at the former, as if inspecting her. Eventually he flipped out and started messing with her hair, complaining that one side was messier than the other. Liz sighed and Patty just laughed.

Maka and Soul were both looking at each other exasperated as Black*Star continued to rant, both of them starting to get a little fed up with it. Evar noticed Soul casually reach over and hold Maka's hand, causing her to blush.

_Hmm, so Soul and Maka, Black*Star and Tsubaki, Kid and maybe Liz… but what about Patty?_

At that moment, a very nervous Crona walked inside, not wanting to become involved in all the commotion. Patty looked at him and smiled, then proceeded to skip up to him and start babbling about something. Crona managed to smile and look happy, and his face even reddened a bit when Patty hugged him.

_Well I'll be… Crona never told me he was going to ask someone to the dance. How sweet. _

"Get in your seats, everyone. Class is about to begin."

* * *

><p>Evar sat and watched as the girls came out of the dressing rooms several times, always wearing a completely different dress than before. They all looked quite lovely, but each girl complained there was at least one thing wrong with all of them. It was too short, too long, too tight, too boxy, too revealing, too plain, too vibrant… Evar had forgotten what a hassle it was to be a teenage girl.<p>

Tsubaki was the first to choose a dress, since she was always so willing to compromise. It was a long, strapless dress that fitted her shape perfectly. The fabric was a deep purple, still keeping in touch with the Valentine's Day theme. She looked very elegant and mysterious.

After that, Patty managed to settle on a short, pink dress that puffed out a little at the hips. It had thick straps, but because of her small frame she was able to pull it off. Liz decided on a simple red dress, where one side reached her knee and the other went just below her hip.

It was a pain, but Maka also managed to select a dress. It was a very simple maroon dress that went just below her knees and had spaghetti straps that tied in a bow. To be honest, the look fit Maka perfectly.

"Now it's your turn, Miss Elektra," Liz said.

"Yeah!" Patty cheered, "Now we get to see you in something pretty!"

"Oh no, girls," Evar said with a wave of her hand, "I'm sure I have something at home I can wear."

All the girls gave her the same blank expression.

"This is special," Maka said, "So you need to get something special for it."

"Maybe something with a little color, too," Tsubaki chimed in sweetly.

"Something that the professor will like," Liz added.

"No, really, girls, I couldn't, please, agh!"

Her protests were ignored and the four girls forced her into a dressing room, throwing dress after dress in with her. They made her come out and show every single one to them to be sure she was trying them all on. Some of them looked nice, while others were meant to remain on the hanger.

It seemed that they'd never find her anything to wear. The four girls were sprawled on the couch that sat outside the dressing room, on the verge of falling asleep from exhaustion.

"Girls, this is the last one," Evar called, "So if you don't like it, we're out of here."

All the girls turned to look and see what their teacher was wearing. Their jaws dropped in unison.

It was surprisingly simple: a flowy white dress that went just above her knees, with a black ribbon wrapped around the waist that tied in a bow on her back. On the left breast, above her heart, a red rose was stitched in the fabric.

To many, it probably didn't seem very special. But for Evar (at least in the girls' minds) it was perfect. It remained in her simple black and white range, so she didn't look like she was trying too hard. The rose was stitched, which was sure to get Professor Stein's attention. And the length was just right, neither too long nor too short.

"That's it!" the girls all cried in unison.

Evar looked at them surprised. Really? It certainly wasn't the most extravagant one on her. There were several others that she would've expected them to choose.

"Are you sure it's not just because I said we'll leave if you don't like it?" she asked.

"No, it looks great!" Patty squealed.

"You look pretty good," Liz added.

"I think that's the perfect dress," Tsubaki said.

"Professor Stein is going to love it!" Maka cried happily.

"Stein?" Evar asked, "Why does that matter?"

They all gave her an "are you serious" look.

"He's your date," Tsubaki murmured.

"Yeah, so he must like you," Liz said.

"And think you're pretty!" Patty added with a smile.

"Don't you like him?" Maka asked.

Evar sweat-dropped as the four girls looked at her questioningly. She really wasn't sure about how she felt for Stein, so there was no way she could answer that question with complete honesty.

"The professor and I are good friends," Evar explained, "I do care for him a lot, but I don't think we're romantically interested in each other."

All the girls gawked at her. This didn't make any sense! Professor Stein had asked her to the dance, so that _had _to mean he was interested in her. And after the incident in Greece, the two of them had seemed to be even closer than before. Maka had witnessed the whole thing; she'd seen how angry the professor was when the kishin had hurt her. How could they not like each other?

* * *

><p><em>It was very quiet. As far as I knew, I was the only one here. Then again… where was here?<em>

_I looked around. There was a cherry tree next to me and a house in front of that. So I was in a backyard. Not just any backyard, either. The one from my childhood, the one I grew up in._

"_Remember this place?" a toxic voice hissed. _

_My head turned to the source of the voice. _

_There she was. She wore a long black shirt and white jeans, a typical look for her. Her snow white hair was in a long braid that almost reached her ankles. Though now there was a thin strip of black in the middle of it, something that hadn't normally been there. _

"_Kage," I murmured. _

_A soft smirk formed on her lips, her gray eyes narrowing. _

"_At least you haven't forgotten me," she said._

"_How could I?" I asked through gritted teeth. _

_She just shrugged, clearly apathetic about the situation. She made her way over to the cherry tree, where the little wooden swing still hung after all these years._

"_You've met someone," she said as she sat on the swing, "He's strange, but you've fallen for him."_

_I clenched my fists as she began to pump the swing, grinning at me devilishly. _

"_I don't know what you're talking about," I spat. _

"_Oh?"_

_Kage pretended to look confused as she swung back and forth, back and forth. _

"_I've seen you with him," she purred, "I can tell that your heart is aching over him. Poor, stupid Evar."_

_That was it. I darted over to knock her off the swing, but as my fist flew through the air I was mortified to see only empty space. _

"_Silly girl," Kage laughed. _

_I looked up and saw that she'd perched herself on a tree branch, looking quite smug. _

"_You've fallen for someone who doesn't know how to love," she sighed, "Oh, how tragic!"_

"_I don't love him!" I spat. _

_She cocked her head curiously, those gray orbs in her eyes dancing delightedly. _

"_You admit that you know who I'm talking about," she said triumphantly, "Oh dear, Evar, look what you've gotten yourself into!"_

_She giggled and played with her hair that frayed out at the end of her braid. _

"_How typical," she sighed, "A Weapon falling for her Meister."_

"_I find that ironic," I spat, "Considering that Heretsu was my original Meister."_

_Kage scoffed and hopped over to another branch, sitting on it and allowing her legs to dangle in the air._

"_Well he did run away from you," she taunted, "I suppose you must be a terrible partner. That's probably why Death put you with Screw-Head… he's the only one who can handle how horrible you are."_

_I grit my teeth again. This was enough._

"_Damn it, Kage!" I spat, "Why do you hate me so much?"_

_For once, Kage let her true colors show. All the hate and envy pent up inside her became visible in her face as she glared at me. _

"_Oh," she hissed, "You of all people should know, Sister."_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Spirit: WHOA! I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!<em>**

**_Maka: See what coming?_**

**_Spirit: That!_**

**_Maka: What is "that"?_**

**_Spirit: The thing that just happened!_**

**_Maka: What thing?_**

**_Spirit: Gah!_**

* * *

><p><strong>Ooh a new plot twist! Actually, I've known this was what was going to happen the whole time, so no this isn't a random attempt at making things more complicated. It's just how I roll! But be prepared for some intense stuff up ahead!<strong>

**Ok, so I think that's it. As always, reviews are loved and appreciated! See you guys later!**


	13. A Sister's Jealousy: Stein's Affection?

**Hey people! It seems like I always update fast on the weekends, so here's to the weekend! Woot! Just a heads up, the whole first part of this chapter is a flashback, so that's why it's in first-person and such. I didn't want to italicize it thought because that would confuse you guys and make you think it was a dream, which it's not. So a lot happens in this chapter, so get ready to dive into a lot of problems and tension! Should be fun. Enjoy!**

Chapter 13

I was two when my little sister entered this world. Heretsu was six and not exactly excited about having two little sisters. Despite that, I was thrilled. I'd have a baby sister to adore and play with all the time.

But Kage wasn't the kind of little sister I had expected.

At first, she and I were the best of friends. We did everything together; played, ate, teased our brother… just about anything possible, we did with each other.

I always watched out for her and made sure she didn't get picked on or hurt. In turn, she always looked up to me like I was an idol. We were as close as two sisters could be.

But one day, that all changed.

I'd just turned nine and Heretsu had just entered the Death Weapon Meister Academy. Both of our parents were Meisters, so it was no surprised that our brother would be one as well. Kage and I both admired him and his power since we weren't anything special. We might have been a little jealous, but we still had each other.

Not long after my birthday, I started to get these weird feelings. My insides felt like they were sparking, almost as if electricity was flowing through my body. Eventually it started to get so immense that it turned painful and I ran crying to my parents. Neither of them really knew what was wrong with me, causing the whole family to freak out.

And then it happened. Heretsu reached out and held my hand for comfort. As my hand wrapped around his, there was a strange flash of blue and the next thing I knew I had become a scythe.

I could remember exactly what they all looked like. Both my parents were in complete awe and amazement, finding it hard to believe that their daughter was a Weapon. Heretsu had been initially shocked, but I could remember that slow smirk he gave me as he realized that we were now a team. I'd expected Kage to be surprised too, but her expression was different. Yes, it was stunned, but there was a look of betrayal in her face, as if I'd left her.

After that, my parents had me train constantly with Heretsu in order to prepare me for my enrollment in the DWMA. He and I became closer than before and I actually started to tolerate how annoying he was, earning a respect for him since he was now my Meister.

Whenever we trained, Kage would sit in the living room and watch us through the blinds. She seemed almost jealous that she couldn't join, as if it were some sort of game. I didn't understand what there was to be jealous about – it was like working and it became tiresome after a while.

On her tenth birthday, she walked up to me and looked at me with solemn gray eyes.

"I want to wield you," she said, "I want to be your Meister."

Our whole family had looked at her like she was crazy, but I was bursting with happiness on the inside. Ever since I'd become a Weapon she'd grown distant from me and I'd missed her terribly. Now was the chance to be close again.

"Okay," I answered, "Let's go in the backyard and try!"

I grabbed her hand and pulled her to the backdoor, ignoring my parents' protests. I could remember thinking that Heretsu would be angry with me, thinking that I was trying to replace him. But when I saw his face, all I saw was overwhelming pity. And I had no idea why.

"Okay, I'm gonna transform now!" I told Kage, "Try to match your wavelength to mine so you can lift me!"

"Alright," she muttered.

I gave her a reassuring smile before the blue light washed over me, turning me into my scythe form. Kage stared at me for a moment as I lay on the grass, her eyes unblinking.

Slowly, she started toward me, a look in her face I'd never seen before. A mixture of determination and… something that looked like vengeance. Her small hands wrapped around my staff and she closed her eyes tightly.

Without my consent, a bolt of electricity charged through my staff and shocked my sister, sending her flying back. My parents called out to her worriedly and went over to make sure she was alright. Heretsu just sat on the porch, shaking his head.

When I changed back to my human form, Kage was in tears and my parents tried to comfort her.

"It's alright, sweetie," my mom said, "Evar's just special. Not anyone can wield her."

"She's just unique," my dad added, "You're not strong enough to handle her."

Little did my parents know that their words were adding fuel to a fire that would start out as a small flame, but eventually burn to a forest fire.

After that, my sister never spoke to me unless she had no other option. She'd watch me hatefully whenever Heretsu was using me, her eyes aglow with a newfound hatred.

Not long after that, something new happened to me. I had been sitting in my front yard, drawing on the sidewalk with some chalk. Kage and I had done it all the time when we were little, but that felt like it'd been ages ago. I'd decided to do it again, in hopes of winning back her love. It was to no avail.

But that wasn't what had struck me that day. As I drew, Heretsu came barreling down the street, yelling and complaining that he didn't want to die. He flew inside the house, leaving me wide-eyed and confused.

As I started to get up and go after him, I saw what had scared my brother senseless. It a boy, about my age or maybe a little older. He was wearing all white and had silvery-gray hair. His face looked completely emotionless.

I suddenly realized that he'd walked right up to me, causing me to gasp and jump to my feet.

"Does that kid live here?" he asked flatly.

I nodded weakly, biting my lip.

"Could you tell him that I was just kidding?" he asked, "He's not even worth the effort to dissect…"

Of course, I had absolutely no clue what he was talking about. But he had pretty olive eyes, so I decided to go with it.

"Sure," I replied weakly, "He's my brother… he's kind of an idiot."

"I noticed."

There was an awkward silence where we just stood there looking at each other.

In an attempt to break the awkwardness of the situation, I thrust my hand out, earning a quizzical look from the boy.

"I'm Evar," I said, "Evar Elektra."

The boy stared at my hand as if it was some foreign object. He warily took it and gave it a quick shake.

"You have pretty eyes!" I blurted for no apparent reason.

He knit his brows together as I jerked my hand away in embarrassment, my cheeks turning bright red.

"Thanks?" he said unsurely.

"Well, I gotta go!" I squeaked, "I'll go tell my brother what you said! Um, bye!"

With that, I darted inside my house, slamming the door behind me. I panted for a moment, trying to catch my breath. Wow, I had been stupid. What had made me say he had pretty eyes? It wasn't like he'd complimented me or anything. What was my problem?

"Hey, Evar."

I looked up and saw Heretsu standing there, his fists in his pockets.

"Did he give you any trouble?" he asked.

I caught my breath and shook my head rapidly.

"No, no, no! He told me to tell you that he was just kidding about what he said!"

Heretsu narrowed his eyes and walked up to me, placing his hand on my shoulder protectively.

"Stay away from him, okay?" he said sternly, "That guy's dangerous."

"B-b-but… he has pretty eyes…"

My brother had looked at me as if I were insane, but shook it off and told me not to see him.

That night, I stayed up and wrote poems about the mysterious boy. They weren't love poems really; they just described him in the way I saw him: mysterious, eerie, reserved, handsome…

When I woke up the next morning, all my poems had disappeared. I began to panic; if Heretsu saw them he'd kill me for not listening to him. Well I hadn't gone to see the boy, but he'd still be angry with me nonetheless.

I got up and went to see if Heretsu had stolen them, my heart starting to race. What if he showed them to my parents? I'd be dead.

When I entered the living room, I was mortified by what I saw. The fireplace was going, its flames licking at the chimney they were so high. And there was Kage, several pieces of papers in her hands. She was throwing them into the fire one at a time, watching as the paper crumbled and became black.

"My poems!" I wept.

Kage turned her head, surprised to see me standing there.

"They aren't very good, Sister," she said impassively, "And you just met this boy yesterday. You shouldn't devote yourself to someone like that. It's dangerous."

She threw the rest of the papers in the fire, my eyes watering as I watched the fire hungrily swallow all of my feelings.

I didn't tell my parents or Heretsu about it. I didn't want any of them to know about that boy. I didn't want to remember him. I completely erased him out of my mind, refusing to let my emotions control me like that again. It was dangerous.

Two years later, my life took a dramatic turn. I'd just enrolled in the DWMA and Heretsu had just graduated. I was looking forward to meeting all the other Weapons and the possibility of having a new Meister. I loved Heretsu, but now that he'd graduated I'd have to get my own permanent Meister.

But my hopes were shattered when my family discovered that Kage had run away. None of us knew why she left, or where she went. All she left us was a note that read:

_I will be strong enough. I'm not going to stay in your shadow anymore. – Kage_

My parents feared the worst and pulled me out of the DWMA, sending me with Heretsu to go find our sister and bring her back. We searched all over Death City, then the state and the country.

We never found her.

* * *

><p>"<em>Why are you here?" I demanded, "Why are you in my dream?"<em>

_Kage stiffened and leapt down from the tree, walking over to stand directly in front of me. We were roughly the same height, though she beat me by barely an inch. _

"_Because I know everything," she hissed, "The madness… it's seeping into you. Your dearly beloved is only making it worse."_

"_Stop calling him that!" I spat._

"_Why deny the truth, big sister? Oh, I can see the madness in your eyes. It's delightful. You won't be able to handle it much longer."_

_I lashed my hand out and wrapped it around her throat, lifting her in the air. She merely smiled at me, her eyes staring into mine. _

"_Mmm, yes," she cackled, "The madness has poisoned you. You want to kill your baby sister. Oh, Evar, and I thought you loved me."_

_My eyes narrowed as I released my grip, allowing her to land delicately back on the ground. _

"_Perhaps you are strong enough to handle it," she murmured, "You're too good to kill your sister… mmm… but I'm not."_

_In a flash, the black part of her braid shot out and wrapped around my neck, hoisting me up several feet in the air. Without even looking I could tell it was a snake; I'd dealt with them enough to recognize them._

"_You're the one who's been doing this!" I spat, "Making Stein see the snakes! And now me!"_

_A triumphant laugh escaped her lips as the snake lowered me slightly, bringing me closer to her face. _

"_No, darling sister," she sighed, "I'm actually not. You can thank my new friend for that. She hates you almost as much as I do."_

"_Who? What are you talking about?"_

_The snake moved quickly, bringing me up and slamming my back into the trunk of the cherry tree as hard as possible. Blood spurted from my mouth and trickled down my chin, staining my white shirt with drops of red poison. _

"_Oh no, look what I've done," Kage spat, "I went and stained that pretty face of yours with blood. I'm so sorry. Now Stein will never look at you the way you look at him."_

_I opened my mouth to speak, but the snake jerked me away quickly, bringing me back to Kage. My body trembled as I felt her rip the back of my shirt open, the fabric ripping louder than it should have. _

"_My, my, sister," she sighed, "He's already done his work. So many stitches! He must've cut you deep."_

"_He healed me!" I growled, "A kishin hurt me and he stitched the wound back up."_

"_Oh? How do you know he didn't play around in there? He loves dissection, doesn't he? How could he resist?"_

"_He wouldn't do that! He cares about me!"_

_The air became still. I couldn't even hear Kage breathing. _

_Instantly, I was thrown across the yard, gasping as I rolled on the ground. Once I stopped, I brought my head up and saw Kage heading toward me, the snake in her hair hissing at me. _

"_Stupid, stupid, Evar," she hissed, "You still think he cares about you?"_

"_I know he does," I said fiercely, "He cares for me as much as I care for him."_

_There was a blow to my stomach, causing me to lose my breath. Kage had somehow appeared right in front of me and kicked my abdomen with the spiky toe of her boot. _

"_He doesn't give a damn about you!" she shrieked, "You are nothing to him! You're meaningless crap!"_

_She kicked me again, this time right between my breasts, cracking the bone that resided there. _

"_You're nothing special!" she continued, "You're a meaningless pile of garbage! He'd trade you in an instant!"_

"_He would not!" I cried feebly._

_I was losing so much blood… it was pouring out of my mouth and seeping out of my abdomen. I didn't know how much more I could take. _

"_You're shit!" Kage screeched, "Worthless shit! You deserve to rot in Hell! Nobody loves you and nobody ever will!"_

* * *

><p>Evar woke up to the sound of the coffee maker. She was lying on the couch, a blanket draped over her. What? She'd fallen asleep in bed… The clock on the table beside her read 2:21 A.M.<p>

"Hey."

She looked over and saw Stein sitting at the computer, looking back at her with tired eyes.

"W-w-what?" she stammered.

"You were screaming and crying in your sleep," he explained as he stood up, "I'm surprised you didn't wake up Crona. I couldn't get you to wake up though, so I carried you in here. I've been working a few hours now in order to stay up so nothing happened to you. But you seem fine now."

Her heart fluttered. He'd been worried about her. He'd stayed up making sure that nothing horrible happened to her. He _cared _about her.

"I'm sorry for keeping you up," she murmured.

He grunted as he grabbed a mug of coffee, taking a long gulp.

"Don't worry about it," he said, "I just didn't want a repeat of the last time you had a nightmare."

He went over and sat beside her on the couch, offering her a sip of the coffee. She politely declined, allowing him to take another swig.

"Stein…"

The scientist looked at her curiously. Her head was bowed, her dark hair covering her face. He had no idea how to read her at that moment.

"Do you… care about me?" she asked as she looked up.

They stared for a long time, both of them silent. Evar started to panic. What if her dream had been real and Kage was right? Or the other dream, where he'd died after responding to this question…

"Of course I do," he said suddenly, breaking Evar from her thoughts, "That was a stupid question."

Evar's eyes got bigger than they ever had. He… he said… he'd said it.

"Well, I'm going back to sleep," Stein said flatly as he stood up, "Are you gonna be alright? If you want, I can sleep on the other couch so you're not alone."

She stared at him. He really did care about her. There was no denying it.

"No, no, that's okay," she said, "You should get to sleep in your own bed. I'll be fine."

Stein shrugged and finished off his coffee, saying goodnight before returning to his bedroom.

Evar smiled weakly and lay back down on the couch.

_He cares about me… he really does…_

* * *

><p><em>Geez, I hope he doesn't think I'm a creep.<em>

Evar had been unable to fall back asleep, afraid that the nightmares would return. She didn't want to bother Stein, but she didn't want to be alone either.

She cautiously tiptoed into his bedroom, shaking slightly with fear. He was off to the side and not in the middle like she'd expected; he had a lot of room after all, so why not use it?

Her breath was rushed as she nervously slid in the bed, trying her best not to wake him up.

"Evar?"

_Damn it!_

She went completely stiff at the sound of Stein's voice, her face flushing with embarrassment.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Um… I-I-I couldn't s-s-sleep and I-I-I j-just didn't w-w-want to b-be alone…"

At first he didn't respond, leaving Evar in a fit of anxiety. He probably thought she was a baby or a freak. Grown women didn't do this! It was ridiculous.

She let out a little squeak of surprise when Stein wrapped his arm around her, bringing her close to his body.

"My dad did this when I was scared," he answered, "It made me feel better. Now go to sleep."

Evar could hardly breathe. She was sleeping with Stein, being held by him… it felt so nice.

She snuggled closer to him, getting comfortable as she let out a content sigh. Her lids fell and she quickly drifted into sleep, without a care in the world.

Stein wrinkled his nose slightly. He wasn't exactly used to this, and it had been twenty years since he'd slept with anyone. But she seemed to feel a lot better, so he supposed he could put up with it. Plus, she was soft and warm, which felt kind of nice.

His lids fell as well and the two slept soundly the rest of the night, without one nightmare.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Patty: This dance is going to be so much fun! I can't wait!<em>**

**_Liz: Yeah, I'm sure it'll be something to remember._**

**_Kid: Are you trying to suggest something?_**

**_Liz: ...No._**

**_Kid: You're lying! I know it! Something's going to happen! Liz!_**

**_Liz: Patty..._**

**_Patty: Shut up, damn you!_**

* * *

><p><strong>Ha, so that's it for now! A lot to take in, huh? A whole past, a dream, and the actual present part of the story! Woo! So much in just one chapter! Well, hope you liked it. Reviews are appreciated, and so is constructive criticism! Love you all!<strong>


	14. The Big Dance: Back Together?

**Huh. Normally I update so fast on the weekends. But hey, better late than never! Sorry, I'm working on getting some cosplay stuff and helping others for an upcoming convention (I'm going to be Blair ^^). So my bad if you guys were hoping for a multiple update weekend. Hopefully this chapter makes up for that with how awesome (maybe?) it is! Here you go!**

Chapter 14

The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted throughout the house, so tantalizing that it caused Stein to wake up from his peaceful slumber. To his surprise, he was alone in bed. At first he thought he imagined that Evar had joined him, but he noticed that the other pillow had a small dent in it from where her head had been resting.

He climbed out of bed and threw a shirt on, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he made his way to the kitchen.

"What's taking so long?" Ragnarok whined, "I'm starving!"

Stein walked in just as Crona started apologizing for his partner's behavior, Evar simply humming to herself as she began to set a plate of food. She looked over at Stein and smiled.

"Morning, sleepyhead," she said teasingly, "Normally you're the first one up; what's that about?"

"Beats me," Stein muttered.

Evar shrugged and set the plate in front of Crona, who gave her a weak smile. Ragnarok instantly started going at the plate, Crona fighting to get some food in his mouth.

"Share, Ragnarok," Evar scolded as she poured a cup of coffee, "I can always make more."

She handed the coffee to Stein, who drank it thankfully. He wasn't used to sleeping in so late; he needed to wake up.

"Hurry up," she warned, "We need to be at the academy soon."

Stein then realized that Evar was already dressed and ready to go. How long had he slept in? This wasn't like him.

Ragnarok retreated into Crona's spine, complaining about cold food or something like that. Evar went over to take the now empty plate and put it in the sink.

"It was delicious," Crona said, "Thanks, Mom!"

Stein raised his brows as Evar looked back over her shoulder surprised. Crona's hands had flown over his mouth in embarrassment and his face had become rather pink. He hadn't meant to call Evar his mother! It just slipped!

After a moment of silence, Evar managed to respond.

"You're welcome, Crona," she said in an unusually weak voice, "And… just make sure you don't call me that at school, okay? Over there I'm your teacher, not your mom."

"O-o-okay…" Crona stammered.

He looked rather heartbroken for a moment, but was caught off guard when Evar came over to wrap her arms around him.

"But you can call me mom here as much as you want," she murmured, "I'm honored that you think of me like that."

The boy gulped nervously. Evar had always been so nice to him and he really did see her as a motherly figure. But there was Lady Medusa…

"I'm gonna get ready," he said quickly.

Before Evar could protest, he'd darted off to his room, seeming strangely nervous, even for him.

"Funny," Stein said, "I never saw you as the motherly type."

"Me either," she mumbled, "But it would be nice to have kids… don't you think?"

Again, Stein was caught off guard. Not once in his entire life had he ever thought about being a father. All that had ever really mattered to him was observation and experimentation. Raising a kid didn't fit that kind of a lifestyle.

"Possibly," he said, "I don't know if I ever would."

"Why do you say that?"

"I'm not the kind of person who understands love. Surely you've noticed that by now."

Evar sweat-dropped at the remark. Of course she'd noticed that. The memory of their kiss always popped into her mind whenever she looked at him, reminding her that there was no hope for the two of them.

"Well, the dance is tonight," she pointed out, "Maybe you'll find the love of your life."

"But I'm going with you."

She sweat-dropped again. For someone so smart, he could really be dumb sometimes.

He took a drink of coffee as she went over to do the dishes.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked.

At that moment, Evar was grateful her back was turned to him due to the fact that her cheeks had flushed at the question. The truth was that she slept better than she had in a long time and that she felt so safe and warm in his arms. But obviously she couldn't say that to him.

"Yes," she muttered.

"That's good. I was worried that you'd have a nightmare again. You seemed quite peaceful though… But you must have been quite tired because for a while you used my chest as a pillow."

There was a clank as the plate fell into the sink, Evar's face getting even brighter.

_Oh my God, I actually did that? How embarrassing!_

"If that ever happens again," he continued, "The nightmare or something, don't hesitate to come back in. Sleeping with me seemed to help calm you down."

_Stein, you're trying to embarrass me, aren't you? Damn it!_

"Whatever," she grumbled, "Just go get ready."

* * *

><p>"Why are we meeting at Professor Stein's house again?" Black*Star asked in irritation.<p>

Maka smacked him upside the head, but not as hard as she normally did. She didn't want to ruin his suit since he never actually dressed up like this.

"We're going because this is where Crona is," she said, "And so are Miss Elektra and the professor. We have to make sure they're getting together like we planned."

"This is so lame," Soul muttered.

Maka just squeezed his hand that she was holding, making him wince only slightly.

"Come on, guys," Tsubaki chimed, "This is going to be fun!"

"Yeah!" Patty cried, "Now come on! I don't want to be late for Crona!"

She grabbed Liz's free hand, since the other was holding Kid's and began to sprint forward, dragging both her sister and Meister along with her. Maka and Tsubaki sweat-dropped as they hear Kid and Liz yelling in protest.

"We should hurry after them," Maka sighed, "Who knows what Patty will do when she's so determined like that."

By the time they had gotten to the house, Patty was squeezing Crona as Kid and Liz were attempting to catch their breath.

"Hi, guys!" Crona gasped

"Patty, don't wrinkle his tux," Liz warned.

"Oh!" Patty squeaked as she let the boy go, "My bad!"

Crona just smiled at her. He'd been really nervous about asking her in the first place, but after all the guys had told him to go for it, he'd somehow managed to work up the courage. He was surprised that she accepted, but now that he had, she seemed to show her affection for him a lot more.

"Hey, kids," a voice said.

They all turned and saw Stein coming over to join them. He was wearing a white tux with stitches, though he seemed to have ditched the lab coat for this occasion.

"Hi, Professor," they all said in unison.

Maka noticed that all the men were wearing different colored tuxes: Stein's was white, Crona had on a gray one, Kid's was brown, Black*Star had gone with blue and Soul stuck with black. They really weren't alike at all, not even in how they dressed.

"Where's Miss Elektra?" Tsubaki asked curiously.

"Getting ready," Stein answered, "She's pretty slow."

"I heard that!" an annoyed voice called.

Evar then came into view, hopping forward as she tried to put one of her heels on. If Maka hadn't been standing there, Soul probably would have had a nosebleed. The dress fit her perfectly and with her bent forward like that, there was a clear view of what was underneath it. She quickly noticed this and stood up just as her shoe slid on.

"Don't you all look cute!" she said smiling, "Let me get some pictures, okay?"

There was a unanimous groan from the teens, but Evar ignored them and pulled out a camera and beckoned them to get close. She took a picture with all eight, and then several with just each couple or two.

As she was about to put it away, Black*Star snatched it from her.

"Your turn!" he declared, "Get over there with the professor!"

Stein, who had been taking the opportunity to smoke, looked over with a raised brow. Evar shook her head and attempted to take the camera back.

"That's fine, Black*Star," she said trying to hold back her annoyance, "We don't need one."

"Come on, Miss Elektra!" Patty pleaded, "We did, so you do, too!"

"It's not very fair if you don't," Kid added.

"You're going to want to remember this, right?" Maka asked, "So come on!"

After a lot of arguing, the kids had managed to get their teachers to agree to take only a few pictures. They all sweat-dropped when the two adults just stood shoulder-to-shoulder.

"Wrap an arm around her," Soul instructed, "You have to at least look like you like each other."

Without protest, Stein wrapped an arm around Evar's waist and pulled her close, causing her to catch her breath. Mechanically, she wrapped her arm around his waist as well, not liking the looks the girls were giving her.

Black*Star took what seemed like hundreds of pictures, jumping around from angle to angle. Stein looked out of the corner of his eye at Evar, who seemed slightly irked with the situation.

"Alright, Black*Star," he said, "One more, and make it good."

With that, he brought Evar even closer and tilted his head a little so that it almost rested on hers, but was too tall to actually do so. Evar blinked in surprise, but tilted her head towards his as well, resting it on his shoulder. Both smiled just as Black*Star let the flash go one more time.

"Alright!" he cried, "Now let's get this party started!"

* * *

><p>"<em>Maka!<em> Come dance with your papa!"

"Get away from me!"

Evar couldn't help but giggle at Death Scythe's behavior. It was fun to make fun of him, but it was even better when he was making a fool of himself.

She turned her head back and looked back out over the balcony. Despite the fun everyone was having inside, she'd felt like coming out here. It'd been too noisy and cramped for her liking. Besides, Stein didn't really to have any sort of an interest in her, so it wasn't like there was anything to do. He was too busy talking to Lord Death.

"I never got the chance to tell you that you look nice tonight."

Evar whirled around, surprised to see Stein standing there, his hands in his pockets.

"Oh," she breathed as she tucked some of her hair behind her ear, "Thanks. So do you."

He looked down at himself, unimpressed. It wasn't like he was dressed very special.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked as he walked over to join her.

"It was cramped in there," she sighed, "And mostly filled with teenagers… plus you were busy, so I just thought I'd stay out here."

"Why does it matter what I was doing?"

"Well it _is_ Valentine's Day, so I'm supposed to be with my date."

He made a small sound of surprise and caused her to look at him.

"What?" she asked.

"I've never been on a date," he muttered, "I'm surprised you referred to me as your date, that's all."

"Well, you are. You did ask me."

"I couldn't let Spirit ask you."

"Why not?"

He looked at her as if she'd just asked the most pointless question ever.

"He's not right for you," he replied.

"Oh?" she inquired, "And how do you know what is right for me?"

"I don't. I just know that Spirit isn't right for anyone really."

"You can't be positive."

"Do you wanna dance?"

Evar was caught off guard. She'd been prying, trying to get him to express his feelings, and now he'd turned the tables on her. Damn, Stein.

"Fine," she mumbled.

Not long after, the two were dancing, staying in the corner to avoid the eyes of the teens and other staff.

Since it was a couple's dance, practically every song was slow, limiting Evar to how much she could space herself from him. Despite the fact that she wanted him to explain his feelings, she wasn't sure what hers were to begin with.

He just kept bringing her closer, not even really meaning to. It was just easier to dance that way. Eventually it got to the point where her head was on his chest and his arms were completely wrapped around her waist. Her hands were shaking against his neck, though she hoped he didn't notice.

"I guess you're right."

Evar looked up at the sound of Stein's voice.

"About what?" she asked.

"I don't know your type," he replied, "So I really didn't have any right to ask you just to keep Spirit from doing it."

"It's fine. Don't tell anyone, but I'm actually enjoying myself."

He smiled faintly at her taunting.

"So am I," he mumbled, "Not bad for a first date."

"Date?" she squeaked.

"If I'm your date," he explained, "Then this _has_ to be a date, doesn't it?"

"Well… I guess so."

"You sound upset at that."

"No, I'm not! Don't jump to conclusions now, Stein. I just told you I'm enjoying myself after all."

"Why are you so nervous? I'm only scary when I want to be."

She reddened and pressed her face against his chest again in hopes of being unseen.

"I need to use the restroom," she breathed.

With that, she ripped away from him and darted out of the room. Why had she freaked out like that? She'd known it was a date the whole time! But to hear him say it… why did that confuse her so much?

As she walked down the hallway, she caught a blur of… something. It was small and moving quickly along the floor. No, not moving. Slithering.

"You!" she gasped.

The snake made a hissing sound and began to slither off again, quicker than Evar thought possible. She ran after it, determined not to let it get away this time. But it wouldn't allow her to catch up. It kept going and going, until it finally went out onto one of the balconies. Evar rounded the corner to follow it, but was caught off guard when she realized the snake had transformed into a woman.

She was sitting on the railing, a devilish smirk on her lips. She wore a black one-piece outfit, with white arrows over it. Each of her arms had what looked like a snake tattoo wrapped around the entire length. Her hair came down and tied in a braid in front of her, resting between her breasts.

"Hello, Evar," she hissed, "How nice to meet you at long last."

"How do you know my name?" Evar demanded.

"I have my ways. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. At least not right now."

She stood up on the railing, Evar gritting her teeth. This was a witch; it had to be. And it was probably the one making her and Stein see the snakes considering her tattoos.

Evar blinked for only a hair of a second, but when her eyes opened the woman had disappeared and in her place was her sister, who looked to be only seven years old.

"Sister," she murmured in Kage's voice, "It's me. Won't you come play with me?"

It felt as though Evar's nerves had been frozen. She couldn't move. It was her baby sister, her baby sister wanting to play with her. She moved closer, reaching for her outstretched hand.

Kage floated backwards slightly, hovering in the air. Evar didn't question it; she just wanted to be with her sister again.

"Please come here," Kage said sweetly, "Please, big sister."

Evar climbed up on the railing as if in a trance, completely fixated on her sister. She was going to accept her at last. After all these years she could finally have her sister back. Her arm reached farther, straining to take hold of her sister's. But she kept floating back just slightly, probably by accident Evar presumed. She brought one of her feet off the railing and extended it forward to take a step.

"Evar!"

The woman caught her breath at the new voice, her body stiffening in shock. Her sister's face contorted into a look of disgust, terrifying Evar. A snake poked out of the little girl's mouth, making Evar scream in horror. She lost her balance, the shoe on her free foot falling off over the railing's edge.

A pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back onto the balcony. Her knees went weak and she crumbled against Stein, clinging to him tightly as tears began to stream down her face.

"What were you doing?" he demanded in an unusually serious voice.

She just kept clinging to his suit, her nails digging in deeply.

"Evar!" he snapped.

"M-m-my s-sister," she whimpered, "I-I-I j-just w-w-w-wanted her t-to love m-me again…"

Stein looked at her confused. He didn't even know she had a sister… was she going mad? If so, she seemed to be pretty shaken up about it.

He tightened his arms and pressed her close, resting his face on top of her head.

"You're okay now," he mumbled, "Don't… don't scare me like that again."

It was then that Evar realized that she wasn't the only one who was shaking. But why? He hadn't been in any danger. There was nothing for him to be afraid of. In reality there was. Seeing Evar like that had reminded Stein of when he'd dreamt of Marie in the same position, though he hadn't been able to save her. He didn't want that to happen for real.

"Don't scare me like that…"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Black*Star: This dance is awesome!<em>**

**_Soul: I know! But where'd the professor and Miss Elektra go? I hope they're okay._**

**_Black*Star: I'm sure they're fine! Besides, the spotlight should be on me not them!_**

**_Soul: Right..._**

* * *

><p><strong>So, yeah, there you go. At first this wasn't going to be an intense chapter, but then I threw that ending in. Gosh, such a mixture of emotions! It's a roller coaster! Is that two words or one? Grr... Well, please review! Means a lot! Bye for now!<strong>


	15. Heretsu's Horror: The Little Girl Lives?

**Hello again! It's been unusually long since I've updated, hasn't it? I've been kind of stuck, but I think I managed to pull out of my rutt! This is kind of an interesting chapter (at least to me) so make sure to pay attention!**

Chapter 15

The night was still, the air quiet. Almost everyone in the city had gone to sleep after a long day of affection with smiles on their faces and love in their hearts. All was peaceful.

Stein was lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling as he held Evar close. He'd insisted on her staying with him again after he'd caught her almost killing herself earlier. There was no way he could risk the madness hurting her again.

She seemed content now though, pressed up against his side with her face on his chest as she had done last time. He didn't really mind; she was soft and warm, almost like another pillow. Funny how she could be so serious and tough when she wanted to be, yet now she seemed almost like a child, so innocent and small.

One of his hands found its way into her hair, letting it slide between his fingers. It looked as if black water was flowing over his hand.

A smile crept on his face. Whether he'd admit it out loud or not, he really did think she was pretty. She was very simplistic and true to herself, just like he was. And the stitches on her back only made the two of them more alike.

It had actually been nice dancing with her also, something he hadn't expected. He'd never liked much physical contact, but he was at ease with her, as if she had a calming effect over him. They'd also been able to resonate well, growing even closer than they already were.

"You're a weird one," he muttered, "I think I'll keep you around for a while."

"_I'm _the weird one?"

He was instantly met with an elbow to the ribs, making him chuckle slightly. He'd suspected she hadn't been entirely asleep and now his suspicions were confirmed.

"In my opinion," he mumbled as she moved away from him, flustered as she realized that her face had been on his chest again.

She ignored his comment and adjusted herself in bed, both uncomfortable and intrigued by how close she was to her partner.

"I feel like a little kid being forced to sleep with someone else to keep nightmares away," she grumbled.

"Even though I'm only a few years older than you?" Stein asked perplexed, "I don't exactly think I'm a father figure to you."

"That's not what I meant… hmm…"

"What is it?"

"You'd be a good dad, Stein."

He looked at her as if she'd just declared the grass was blue.

"I know you don't think you can love and all," she explained, "But just the way you act around the students, and Crona now that he's here with us. I think that if you gave love a chance you'd be pretty decent at it."

He looked at her thoughtfully, contemplating what she said.

"I was right," he said after a while, "You _are _the weird one."

Again, she jabbed his side with her elbow, only making him laugh again. She was only playing so it wasn't like it hurt or anything.

Much to Evar's surprise, Stein reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her close to him again.

"I want to talk to you," he said in response to her shocked expression, "About what happened earlier tonight… Something about your sister."

Evar fidgeted. Both from his hold on her and the question he asked.

"She disappeared a long time ago," she mumbled, "That's why I left the academy… to go find her. I never did. That's it."

"You said you wanted her to love you again…"

The woman desperately fought against the tears that were forming in her eyes. There was no way she was going to be this weak in front of Stein; he needed someone strong. She had to be strong.

"She wanted to be my Meister," she added, "But her soul wasn't strong enough… she never really seemed to love me again after that."

"She ran away because she couldn't wield you?"

"I don't know… I just couldn't find her… some big sister I am."

Stein shocked her again by wrapping his arms around her and hugging her, his face close to her own. Her body trembled slightly as she felt his breath on her ear.

"It's not your fault," he whispered, "So don't let the madness make you think that… I'll figure out what's causing all these hallucinations and stop it. I won't let you get hurt again."

Her eyes widened slightly. He really did care about her. Possibly even more than he wanted to admit.

Evar returned the embrace, pressing her face into his chest. He still hadn't the decency to wear a shirt, but now it didn't really bother her. His skin was rough but warm, offering the comfort she craved.

Stein didn't mind either. She was his partner after all and he had to do anything to keep her safe and protected. She had the softest skin, and it was nice just to hold her like that. There was an area in particular he was very curious about.

Her white camisole rode up just slightly and her black sleep shorts rested beneath her hips, exposing an area of flesh just big enough for him to place his hand on. Much to his surprise, Evar didn't seem to mind when he placed his hand there. In fact, it almost felt like she moved closer to him.

And then, for some unknown reason, Evar pressed her lips against his chest, directly on the line of his stitches. She quickly tensed with the realization of what she'd just done and clenched her eyes shut.

_How embarrassing! Stein's not interested in me! What am I doing?_

But that wasn't the real surprise. Instead, she nearly fainted as she felt his lips on the top of her head, only for his head to turn back to its original position on top of hers.

"Go to sleep," he sighed, "It's been a long day."

Without saying anything else, he closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.

Evar laid there for a moment, completely shocked. He… he'd kissed her. Willingly. Did this mean… that he was starting to return her feelings?

* * *

><p>Heretsu couldn't ignore that scratching at the back of his mind that there was a witch nearby. It was his instinct and there was no denying that the presence of this witch was strong.<p>

"I don't like this," he told himself, "This doesn't seem like a normal witch either… I should warn Evar and Stein… He may be a nut, but he'll know what to do."

The cat changed into his human form and quickly left his apartment before Tsubaki or Black*Star got there. They still didn't know he was human and he didn't plan on telling them.

He managed to escape without being noticed and quickly made his way towards Stein's house. It was late and the moon was creepier than usual, making the situation even more frightening.

"God, Evar," he muttered, "You just _had _to pair up with the creepiest guy you could find, didn't you?"

The man shivered at the sight of Professor Stein's house; this place gave him the creeps. Why did he have to make his house look like that? He was already a big enough freak without it.

He walked around the side of the house, not wanting to go to the front door. They were probably all asleep and he didn't really want to be greeted by a Stein that had been disturbed from his slumber. No, he'd just look for Evar's window and climb in.

At the first window he was met with a dark room he couldn't see in. That wasn't very helpful. The next window was the same situation.

"Geez, this place gives me the creeps," he mumbled, "Sis, I hope you're okay."

The next window, however, provided him with some knowledge. He could barely see Stein – that screw was hard to miss – and the outline of his bed. But that's not who he was looking for.

"Wait a minute…" he breathed as he peered closer.

Stein… he wasn't alone in the bed. Someone was definitely with him. It was hard to tell… he seemed to be holding this person, hiding them from Heretsu's view. But then he saw it. The black hair sprawled behind the other person.

"Ev–"

He was suddenly flung to the side by an unknown force, rolling around on the ground in pain.

"Shh…" an eerie voice hissed, "They're sleeping."

Heretsu looked up and froze at what he saw. It was her. She was standing right there, in all her glory.

"Kage," he breathed, "You're… you're _alive!"_

"I'm surprised you recognize me, big brother," she spat as she moved towards him, "The years have been harsh."

He just gaped at her. She… she was here. Alive.

"We looked everywhere for you," he gasped, "Where did you go?"

"Oh, nowhere really," she said nonchalantly, "Out of town, made some new friends, had a few adjustments on my soul."

It was then that Heretsu realized why he'd been sensing a witch.

"No! No you can't be!"

She somehow appeared in front of him in a flash, shoving the toe of her boot into his mouth, making him gag.

"Shh, brother," she purred, "We can't wake up our dear sister now, can we?"

Even though Heretsu despised Stein, he was on the scientist's side in this case. Kage had changed, obviously for the worse, and seemed to have something against her sister and Stein. He needed their help.

"Come on," she hissed, "We're leaving."

He began to attempt to speak through the boot, but was stopped. It felt as if something had been shot out of the toe of her boot and flew down his throat painfully. He wasn't sure though, because he was quickly immersed in darkness.

* * *

><p>Crona didn't know what he was supposed to do.<p>

Lady Medusa had warned him that if he said anything to anyone, she'd kill Professor Stein. And after what he'd told her, she might be after Miss Elektra, too.

The boy clung to his pillow, pressing his face against its softness.

"I can't let her get hurt," he whimpered, "She… she's like my mother… if she got hurt… it'd be all my fault…"

He clenched the pillow tighter, his eyes welling up with tears. Miss Elektra had always been so good to him, so kind. She couldn't get hurt because of something he did. That wasn't right. He had to stop Lady Medusa. Somehow, he had to.

"And we still have to get her and the professor to fall in love," he told himself, "I can't let them get hurt before that happens. No, I can't let them get hurt at all! I just can't!"

"What a horrible child."

Crona caught his breath at the sound of that familiar, cruel voice. He looked around, but didn't see anyone.

"Calling _her _your mother," it spat, "Crona, you're so awful to me. _I'm _your mother, not her."

The boy shook his head, shoving his face into the pillow. It was just his imagination. She wasn't really there. It was just his imagination.

"You're my flesh and blood, Crona. You can't deny that."

"Go away!" he wept, "I don't care! I'm tired of you always using me!"

"Poor Crona. So upset but unable to do anything."

"Leave me alone!"

"She doesn't care about you like I do. You aren't her child; she'll never love you as her own."

"Stop it!"

The door swung open, making Crona jump in surprise and cling to his pillow, pressing himself against the wall.

"Crona!" Evar breathed as she came in the room, "Are you alright? I heard you screaming."

The boy just whimpered as she came over and sat on the bed beside him, Professor Stein leaning in the doorway and watching. He allowed Evar to hold him and press him against her, running her fingers gently through his hair.

"It's ok," she said soothingly, "It's alright. Don't be afraid."

Crona just trembled and sniffled, his heart pounding in his chest. He knew that Lady Medusa had been lying; Miss Elektra did care about him. She was here with him now so she had to.

He leaned closer to her and hid his face against her neck, sobbing softly. She was more of a mother to him than Lady Medusa ever would be. That was all that mattered.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Crona: I don't know how to deal with any of this!<em>**

**_Maka: It's okay, Crona. Don't worry about it._**

**_Crona: But I want to know! I should know!_**

**_Maka: You don't have to... really..._**

**_Crona: But... but..._**

* * *

><p><strong>Well, lots of stuff going on, huh? It's all so chaotic! I'm thinking that most of the action is going to start happening now, along with some more fluff ^^ Hope you liked it! Please review if you have anything to say!<strong>


	16. Stein's Experiment: Spirit's Advice?

**Oh my gosh I'm back everyone! I know it's been _forever _since I've updated but I'm sorry! I went to an anime convention (loved it) made a new friend, have seen her a lot, had issues with parents and just overall craziness! So, my sincerest apologies for making my few reviewers (though I love you all terribly) wait this long. Without further ado, the next chapter!**

Chapter 16

A depressed sigh left Spirit's mouth as he sat in the Death Room. There was nothing that Lord Death needed him to do, but at the same time there wasn't anything he could really do. He'd already gone drinking, so it wasn't like he could do that again. Maka was in class so he couldn't spend time with her.

"What am I supposed to do?" he groaned.

At that moment, someone else entered the Death Room, sending Spirit on his feet in surprise. He didn't want to look like a slacker, even if there was nothing to do.

It wasn't like he expected anything exciting to happen from this person's entrance; it was probably just Sid or someone looking for Lord Death. But when the person became visible, Spirit couldn't help but cringe.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Stein just kept walking towards him, his hands in his pockets.

Spirit's eyebrow twitched. Stein was already creepy enough! This whole silent thing wasn't helping.

Once Stein reached him, Spirit noticed that the professor seemed somewhat… frustrated. Why, he wasn't sure.

"Spirit," he said flatly, "I need your help."

The redhead's eyes widened in shock.

"_My _help?" he cried flabbergasted.

"You have a lot more experience in this field then I do," Stein muttered, "And I'd appreciate some advice."

Spirit stared at him. This was the last thing he ever expected to happen. Of all people, _Stein_ was asking him for help. There was no way that this was happening. It was probably a dream. But when he pinched himself, Spirit realized it was all too real.

"Why would you possibly need my advice?" Spirit asked warily.

Stein sighed and looked to the side, clenching the cigarette tightly between his teeth.

"I need help…" he grumbled, "I need help with a woman."

* * *

><p>Stein didn't really know why he went to Spirit of all people for help. Sure, he had experience but he wasn't great at keeping a relationship. Plus, he'd probably tell everyone about this when he wasn't even completely sure of his feelings himself.<p>

It had all been very confusing for Stein. He knew that he cared about Evar; she was his partner after all. But he'd told himself over and over again that he couldn't love; it wasn't possible.

So why was he feeling this way?

Why did he feel like he needed to impress her? He'd never really attempted to impress anyone. But with Evar, he just… wanted to.

He reached up and twisted the screw in his head a few times, trying to adjust his thoughts. But no matter much he turned it, something didn't feel quite right.

"_What's the matter, Stein? You can't feel love, remember?"_

Stein clenched down on his cigarette, his muscles tensing. She was back.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed, "You should know by now that I don't want you."

"_But I'm here for you, Stein. To save you. You don't really love her… you're just curious about the idea of being in love. And she's your easiest specimen."_

"That isn't true. Evar's not my experiment."

"_You can make her one. Come on, you know you want to."_

"Get out of my head!"

The front door suddenly opened, allowing light to pour in and chase away Medusa's voice in his head.

"I'm back," Evar's familiar voice called.

"Welcome home," Stein responded as he got up from the couch, putting out his cigarette.

She had several bags of groceries in her arms and was struggling to get to the kitchen without dropping any. Stein went over and took some from her quietly, not noticing the look of surprise on her face as he went to set them down.

"Thanks," she said after a moment.

"You're welcome," he answered.

There was a long silence as Evar began to put away the groceries, Stein simply standing there and observing.

He tried to remember what Spirit had told him.

_Flirt with her! If you have feelings, you need to let her know! But don't just spit it out. Be subtle. Chicks dig the whole mysterious thing. Drop a few hints and she'll get it._

Stein gulped. He didn't know if he could do this. It just wasn't… who he was. But he had to get these feelings off his chest. If he didn't, he'd go crazy.

"You look nice today," he said flatly.

Evar stopped and turned back at him, caught off guard. She was dressed in black sweats, an old white t-shirt and had her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. Really?

"Um, thanks," she said unsurely, "So do you?"

Stein looked down at himself, wearing his usual stitched shirt, pants and lab coat. Oh. She must not have been very flattered. This wasn't going well.

He removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose where they rested. There had to be something else he could say, something that didn't sound so stupid. But he couldn't think of anything. Well, there was one thing…

"I like sleeping with you."

At that, Evar dropped the carton of milk in her hand, sending it to the floor and causing the liquid to spill all over the place. Her face had gone bright red and she stared straight at the floor in an attempt to keep Stein from noticing.

Stein, unaware that he'd just embarrassed the hell out of his partner, went over to pick up the now empty carton of milk. However, he succeeded in slipping on the puddle of liquid and fell forward onto an unsuspecting Evar. The woman gasped and felt her face get even redder as they landed on the floor, her head smacking against the tile painfully.

"_Damn, _that hurt!" she groaned as her eyes clenched shut.

Once the pain slightly subsided, she opened her eyes to realize just what kind of a position she was in. Stein, who'd attempted to grab at the wall to stop them from falling, had one of hands clenching her breast and the other was on the side, his palm pressed in the floor in an attempt to break the impact.

For a moment they just stared at each other in complete shock. Both were embarrassed, though Evar made it much more clear than Stein allowed himself to.

Then, in a voice much calmer than either expected, Evar spoke.

"What are you doing?"

Instead of answering, Stein attempted to correct the situation. He began to push himself up with the hand at his side, but it conveniently slipped out from under him due to the puddle of milk. Without anything else to support his weight, his upper half fell forward with his face landing directly between Evar's breasts.

"Stein!" She gasped, allowing her mortification to be known.

The man remained silent, too horrified to speak. This had to be the most embarrassing situation he'd ever been in. And to top it off, there was a weird feeling going on beneath his belt.

At the realization of what exactly that feeling meant, Stein hurried to his feet, only slipping slightly.

"I'll be right back," he said in his typical monotone voice.

Evar just stared at him confused as he turned around and headed to what looked like the bathroom. Probably to get some stuff to clean up this mess, she thought.

"Well, that was mortifying," she breathed as she sat up.

She shook the milk off her hands and looked around on the floor. It was a _mess._ That'd be fun to clean. Her head tilted as she noticed something different. Stein's glasses were lying beside her, one of the lenses cracked. They must have slipped out of Stein's hand when he started falling…

She picked up the spectacles and wiped the liquid off with the front of her shirt; it was already ruined anyway.

There was a movement beside her and she turned her head to see that Stein had returned and was now kneeling in front of her, not even trying to avoid the spilt milk. Evar caught her breath and shoved her hand forward, offering him the glasses.

"They cracked," she said meekly.

"That's alright," he muttered, "I can fix them."

Yet he didn't reach out to take them. Evar pushed her hand forward a bit more, encouraging him to take them. Instead, he reached out and put his hands on her shoulders, only making her more confused.

"Stein, what are you –"

She was silenced as he closed the distance between them, planting his lips on hers. A small surprised sound escaped her mouth, but she was even more surprised when she could feel herself kissing him back. It was only for a moment, but she could tell there was some sort of spark between them. She had no doubt about it; after all, electricity was her thing.

They stayed like that a few moments longer with the only noise being the gentle whir of the ceiling fan. Their lips slowly moved away from each other, almost reluctantly. After that, they just looked at each other.

"Well," Evar breathed, "That was… unexpected."

Stein remained silent, staring at her with his empty olive eyes. Evar sighed; she'd kind of expected no response from him. She took the glasses and placed them on his face, smiling a little at the cracked lens.

"I didn't mind it," she added, "You're not a bad kisser, Stein."

At that, he was caught off guard and fell back a little, plopping down on the floor. Evar giggled as he blinked at her, unsure of how to respond.

"Well, what'd you do it for?" she asked.

Stein managed to find his voice.

"An experiment."

"What kind of experiment?"

"To see if I have any feelings for you."

"And what are the results?"

At that, Stein reached out and grabbed her again, a devilish smirk appearing on his lips as she made a slight gasping sound.

"Positive," he answered.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Spirit: I am so good.<em>**

**_Maka: At what?_**

**_Spirit: You'll find out soon enough, my darling daughter._**

**_Maka: Don't call me that!_**

* * *

><p><strong>Woot it's updated! Like I said before, sorry for the long ass wait; life's been hectic. I know Stein might seem kind of OOC toward the end of this chapter, but I <em>really <em>want to write more romance and get into his relationship with Evar more, so you'll just have to deal with it ^.^**

**Well, that's all for now. Don't forget to review! It makes me the happiest writer ever! I love you all and thank you so much for just taking the time to read this! See you soon I hope!**


	17. Evar's Madness: Medusa's New Pet?

**Woop I'm here! It's been weeks since I've updated, which is unusual for me, but I've just been busy with midterms and stuff. Ew :P Just wanted to let you guys know, first off, that if you've read my _Ouran _fic, that will be starting up again soon. I'm doing my best to get all my stories back on track which means... If any of my dedicated first fans who read my first fics are reading this... I _will _be writing my _Harvest Moon _fics again, but I'm not sure if I'll do both or just one for now. **

**Second, this whole plot of this chapter wasn't originally going to happen for another three or four chapters, but the ones in bewtween it were just going to be fillers. So I thought, 'Why not skip the fillers and get to the action?' Hope it pays off!**

Chapter 17

"Hey, you guys," Maka said as she entered the classroom, heading to her group of friends.

"Hey," they said back.

"What are you all talking about?"

"To be honest," Soul muttered, "Something totally uncool."

Maka looked surprised. That was so unlike him; Soul hated being in situations that weren't cool.

"Haven't you noticed that Miss Elektra's been acting a bit odd?" Kid asked.

The girl thought about it for a moment. It was true – their teacher had seemed rather strange the past few weeks. She was always smiling and had practically stopped giving them assignments. Whenever she was around it was like it suddenly became easier to breathe.

"Yeah," Maka admitted, "But I haven't thought much of it. I wonder what might be wrong."

At that moment, Miss Elektra slid inside the room, complete bliss written on her face. The students slowly made their way to the seats; their teacher never forced them to do anything, but they had to move sooner or later.

Miss Elektra looked different today. Sure, she was wearing the typical black jeans and white blouse, but there was something else. Ah! She had a white ribbon tied around her head like a headband, the loose ends of it mixing with her ebony hair.

But was that really what made her look so different? Or was it the unusual amount of happiness oozing from her?

"Good morning, class!" she sang.

"Good morning," they all answered with much less enthusiasm.

"I graded all your tests so I'm going to pass them back."

As Evar began to hand back the papers, the students went into idle chatter. They all talked about school stuff when their teacher approached, but once she was on the other side of the room she became the center of gossip.

To be honest, it remained that way most of the class, even when she was teaching. They were fairly quiet and she didn't seem to notice.

Crona felt bad that the students were talking behind her back like that… It wasn't fair. He'd have to talk to her about it at home. He thought about talking to her right after class, but it wouldn't be good to bring it up in front of his fellow classmates.

Once class left, Evar took a seat at her desk and began to organize some of the papers. She had this period off now, so it would probably be best to get some work done while she could… despite the fact that she couldn't stop thinking about Stein.

Their relationship hadn't become anything dramatic like one would expect. Neither of them was used to it so they agreed to take it slow. Quite slow.

The only sign of affection they ever really showed to each other was to hold hands or occasionally hug one another. They hadn't even kissed since that last incident; only Evar pecking him on the cheek. But she didn't care. She was in a relationship with him and that was what mattered.

Actually, work was what mattered right now, not that.

As she got busy with her work, Evar suddenly felt a stinging sensation on her shoulder. She flinched slightly and glanced at her arm; she had on a long-sleeve so she didn't see anything. Probably just a tweaked nerve.

She decided to ignore it and continue. But as she did, the stinging came back, this time on her back, chest and even on her legs. Ok, _something _was wrong, there was no doubt about that.

Evar stood up and rolled up her sleeve to look at her arm where the first pain had happened. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw two slender lines beside each other, blood slowly starting to drip from them.

As much as she didn't want to admit it, the mark looked exactly like a snake bite.

She began to pull up her jeans and reached beneath her shirt for the marks. They were all snake bites, several of them, all starting to bleed.

Her breathing hitched as she sprung to her feet, bumping back into the chalkboard behind her.

"Damn," she gasped, "And just when I thought this was done… I don't know how much more of this I can take…"

At that, there was a strange feeling against her head, as if it had suddenly become lighter. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the snakes that had nested in her hair, darting their tongues out threateningly at her. But she remained somewhat calm.

In one swift movement, she reached out for the pair of scissors on her desk, opened them and sliced them through the serpents at the top of her neck, hearing them shriek as they collapsed to the floor, splattering blood against her back, neck and the chalkboard. She repeatedly cut and cut and cut; there were so many and they were all so thick! But she managed to do it.

The snakes, still alive though lacking half their body, squirmed around at her feet, hissing angrily.

Evar just stared. She'd defeated them… ha… she did it!

She reached up to touch her head to make sure she hadn't missed any of the snakes; she hadn't. Now she was just left with a small tuft of her that looked rather boyish, and was cut so haphazardly that it looked like it'd been done by someone who was blind.

One of the snakes got closer, attempting to bite at her ankle.

With a blank expression, Evar lifted up her foot and smashed her spiky high heel into the serpent's skull, giving out a slight chuckle at the cracking sound it made.

"Goodnight," she purred sadistically.

"Good girl."

Evar was, shockingly, unsurprised by the sudden new voice. If anything, she was slightly entertained.

She lifted her head from the floor and looked up, seeing that a long, black arrow had seemed to be painted along the staircase in her room, going all the way up until it pointed out one of the large windows.

"I have you now," the voice murmured, "Your time with Stein was short, but the madness has already done so much."

At the mention of Stein's name, Evar blinked and came back for a moment.

His name… he… he was safety. Where was he?

"Come here," the voice whispered, "The arrow… it points the direction you need to go."

The thought of Stein was erased from her mind at the sound of this new voice that so easily lulled her. It was so hypnotic she couldn't try to ignore it.

So she followed the arrow, up to the window, opening it and looking outside. The arrow pointed through the window, extending slightly into the air as if telling her to walk on it.

"Go on," the voice encouraged, "You can do it."

Evar simply nodded and stood on the window sill – she had to crouch slightly because the window wasn't that tall. Still, the arrow waited.

And so she stepped forward.

* * *

><p>It was obvious that Stein was quite confused when Evar didn't come to his room for lunch. She'd been coming practically every day since she'd started working here. And now that they were, well, "together" it was even more unusual. But perhaps she was doing something. He'd even decided to get her a flower as an attempt at affection; it waited patiently in a coffee mug filled with water on his desk. No matter.<p>

He would wait.

Three minutes.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Fifteen minutes.

Stein forcefully pushed himself away from his desk and got to his feet, heading over to her classroom. Maybe she'd gotten sick and gone home and forgotten to tell him. Or she was grading papers so thoroughly that she hadn't noticed the time or heard the bell.

He opened the door to her room and expected to see her sitting at her desk, mindlessly grading papers or something. But that wasn't even close to what he was facing.

Her chair had been shoved back forcefully into the chalkboard, so hard that there was actually a crack in the board. A massive clump of black hair lay beside the chair, red splashes around the whole area.

Stein moved quickly, noticing the bloodied pair of scissors beside the mass of hair. Someone, or something, must have cut her hair off like this, forcefully to the point that it caused blood to be spilled.

Interesting.

It seemed like some sort of an experiment he would conduct.

He knelt down and picked up one of the long chunks of hair. It was easily recognizable. It was Evar's hair.

That was when he was jerked to reality.

Evar. It was Evar who this had happened to, his Evar, the one he was supposed to be protecting.

"_Evar!"_ Stein cried as he darted out the classroom, still gripping the piece of her hair tightly in his hand.

* * *

><p>Both Kage and Medusa were impressed with one another.<p>

The younger witch had been successful in capturing the cat man and had him locked up tightly in a cell in their hideout, chained to the wall inside a room that they could see, to watch his pain. His, ability to sense witches better than most people had been a threat, so Medusa was grateful that her accomplice managed to eliminate him from their list of possible problems.

Yet Kage was definitely more impressed between the two of them.

Medusa had returned to the lair with an unusually submissive Evar, whose hair had been completely chopped off and pupils were completely dilated. Kage dared not to let her see her, or else risk Medusa's hold on the girl being shaken.

Once inside, Medusa wrapped leather straps around the new prisoner's neck, wrists and ankles, tightening them so they were uncomfortable but not to the point of pain. Each strap had heavy metal chains attached allowing Medusa to be able to take hold of one and control her.

"She's completely swallowed in the madness," Medusa explained, "She won't fight me unless something colossal is able to snap her out of it; which I doubt could happen."

Kage wasn't ashamed to admit that she enjoyed watching Medusa pull her older sister around like a lowly dog, head bowed and eyes sunken.

She had won.

"Not so special now, are you?" she snorted from the corner in which she observed the two others.

Meanwhile, Heretsu was banging the walls with his chained fists, not caring that they were bleeding profusely.

"Let her go, Kage!" he screamed, "She never did anything to you!"

Kage turned her head back slightly, looking at the closed door that led to her brother's cell.

"Try living as a shadow your whole life, brother," she snapped, "Then you'll see my point of view."

Heretsu hissed angrily. How could this be his baby sister? He couldn't imagine anything that had caused her to be such a… a… witch.

"You chose to be a shadow, Kage," he growled, "Evar's always been special in her own way and you could've done the same if –"

"I couldn't damn it!" she screeched, "I was a stupid human! I couldn't do anything! Why the hell do you think I sold my soul to become this? So I _could _stand out! So I could crush you both for stealing my life away."

The man was quiet. So that was how she'd done it. She'd sold her own soul to become a witch… he'd heard of it happening, but only on extremely rare occasions of hate and desperation. Apparently this applied to his little sister.

"Stein will come to save her," he said just loudly enough for Kage to hear.

"That's the point," Kage mumbled.

"He's dealt with Medusa before and knows how she operates – he'll be able to defeat her again."

At that, Heretsu heard a horrible cackle come from the other side of the door, a shiver crawling up his spine at the noise he'd never expected to hear from his younger sibling.

"Oh, dear brother," she laughed, "Who said it was Medusa he'd be fighting?"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Black*Star: Hell yeah! Professor Stein's gone! Now we can party!<em>**

**_Tsubaki: Um, I'm not sure if that's a good thing, Black*Star..._**

**_Black*Star: Of course it is! Without him all the attention will be directed in the right area: ME!_**

**_Tsubaki: -sweat drop- But aren't you worried about him and Miss Elektra? And poor Sparky's been missing for a while now, too..._**

**_Black*Star: Keep on bringing the good news for the star!_**

* * *

><p><strong>Ha, so ok lots (sort of?) going on. Evar's losing it - I've actually had that planned for a while, I've even drawn pictures of her insane self way before I even got to this chapter - and it looks like the villains are starting to pull ahead. Uh oh!<strong>

**But Stein to the rescue, right? Maybe he'll even have a couple helpers! Well, we can hope!**

**Oh! Also, since I'm going to be continuing my other stories, I've also decided to add a _Hetalia _fic into the mix as well. It should be up pretty soon. Brief summary: AustriaxHungary squeeee! I love them!**

**That's it for now! Check out my other fics if you want and don't forget to review! Love ya!**


	18. Stein's Decision: Evar's New Condition?

**Hellooooooo everybody~ I know I said in my last update I'd be updating all my stories and starting a new one and I'd be so much more dedicated... well yeah. that didn't work out how I thought it would. First off, this part of this story is _supposed _to be one of the climaxes (I know there's gonna be two, dear god, as if I wasn't insane enough) but I'm having an issue on how to approach said climax. So this chapter is kind of a filler, not gonna lie. As for the other stories, they _will _be getting updated still, I promise, I've just been trying to think of some new ideas for you guys. So, here's hoping my being caught in a rutt is worth the while!**

Chapter 18

"Stein, you can't go alone," Spirit argued.

The scientist simply took a drag from his cigarette, looking rather irritated as his olive green eyes stared the older man down.

"It's my fault," he said flatly, "I ignored the signs and now she's gone. I have no doubt that its Medusa's doing."

"Maka killed her."

"Her soul never appeared. She had to extinguish it and must have pieced it back together, like when you and I fought her."

Spirit shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. He knew Stein was crazy, but even this was a bit much. Going after a witch who hadn't been killed in two "fatal" battles by himself was a death wish.

"You're the only Meister I'd trust to go battle without a Weapon," Spirit admitted, "But not against Medusa. I'm going to go with you."

"No," Stein interrupted, "Lord Death has already made it clear that you are to stay with him and not me; we don't need another kishin revival."

Stein put his cigarette back in his mouth, letting it hang limply between his lips. The guilt weighing down on him was almost as painful as the madness eating away at his mind, though he couldn't be sure which was worse. All he knew was that he needed to find Evar before it was too late.

"You need to take _someone, _Stein," Spirit persisted.

Even though the younger man often frightened him, he was Spirit's closest friend and didn't want to see him get hurt.

"This is my fight," the scientist replied, "I need to be the one to finish Medusa, once and for all."

The two men looked at each other for a moment, continuing their conversation without moving their lips. Spirit was forced to realize that Stein wouldn't budge about his position and that he couldn't help. Stein was given words of caution, which he thanked his sempai for.

Yet just as Stein was about to go leave, a voice cried out for them to stop and loud footsteps were heard coming towards them. Both men looked and saw Crona racing over, gasping for air as he did.

"Professor Stein!" he choked out, "Miss Elektra! M-Medusa has her!"

At this, Stein's eyes widened.

"How do you know that, Crona?" he asked.

"Lady Medusa w-w-was talking to m-me," the boy panted, "I thought it w-was h-h-hallucinations at first and that they'd g-g-go away. But I w-w-went to her room and s-saw the h-hair and b-b-b-blood…"

The boy was cut off as Stein shoved him against the wall, making him catch his breath in shock.

"You've known this all along?" the man growled.

Crona trembled violently, afraid of how to answer. Spirit attempted to come between them, but Stein wouldn't allow it.

"She s-s-said that she'd k-kill you," Crona stammered, "And M-Mom, too i-if I t-told anyone…"

Spirit relaxed silently as he watched Stein release his hold on the boy, letting him slide down to the floor and tuck himself into a ball.

So Crona had known, but he hadn't said anything. He'd been trying to protect Evar and Stein…

"I w-want to s-s-save her," Crona whimpered, "P-p-please let me c-c-come with you."

Stein stared hard at the cowering child for a moment, contemplating what to do. It was Medusa's child, the one who'd betrayed the academy and caused so many problems. But Evar would never be able to forgive Stein if he hurt Crona.

"Fine," Stein said flatly, "Get up. We're going."

* * *

><p>Medusa was extremely irritated. She had Evar under her complete control, not one attempt of rebellion causing any problem. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was that Evar had started to speak. And she only said one word.<p>

Stein.

If he was that engraved into her mind, things could become disastrous. She could see him and the shock could be so powerful that it could destroy Medusa's hold on her and ruin her entire plan. Somehow, she had to get him out of her slave's mind.

She looked over her shoulder, seeing the possessed girl staring at the wall, her icicle blue eyes glazed. The chains hung limply around her, Medusa only having a hold on the one around her neck.

The girl reached up slowly and touched her lips with her fingertips, brushing them gently.

"Stein…" she murmured.

At that, Medusa jerked on the chain, causing Evar to topple over on her side and let out a soft squeak of surprise. Despite the pain it had caused, she crawled over to Medusa obediently, looking at her curiously.

"Don't speak," Medusa hissed, "I forbid it."

There was a pleased chuckle from the corner of the room, making both women look over. Heretsu was chained on the opposite wall, a smirk on his face. He'd been moved out of his cell recently in order to watch the torment that was being inflicted on his sister.

"What's so funny?" Medusa snapped.

"You're threatened," Heretsu snickered, "Stein's had more power over her than you thought."

He was met with a kick to the stomach by Kage, making him let out an irritated grunt as he lost his breath.

"A silly crush isn't going to save her," the witch spat, "Brother, don't be so foolish."

Heretsu clenched his teeth and took a moment to let air return to his lungs before speaking.

"There's a reason I was scared of him when we were at the academy. He's the best Meister that's ever graduated. And he's probably going to bring Death Scythe and plenty of other reinforcements to save her. Killing two witches won't be a difficult task."

"You overestimate my lover," Medusa sighed, "But I won't say anything to crush your pathetic optimism. Enjoy it; it's all you have left."

Evar just sat beside Medusa, cautiously allowing her hand to go back up to her mouth. She shivered slightly as she brushed her lips, thinking of the only word she remembered. She didn't know what it meant, but it sent shockwaves through her nerves.

"Stein…" she repeated to herself.

There was a yank at her neck, making her yelp and drop her hand to her side. Heretsu gritted his teeth angrily as the witch glared at his sister.

"I said not to speak," the blonde spat, "If you do I'll make the snakes come back."

Evar whimpered and shook her head rapidly, her eyes starting to get wide. Medusa raised her hand at the same time Evar's hair began to float. As the locks turned to serpents and hissed, the woman screamed and flung herself to the ground, shielding her face from the animals that had nested into her hair.

"Stop it!" Heretsu cried, only to be met with a slap from Kage.

Medusa smiled venomously and lowered her hand, in turn returning Evar's hair back to normal. Kage remained hidden in the shadows, still unseen by Evar. If the girl caught a glimpse of her younger sister, it could be as disastrous as if she saw Stein.

"He's probably on his way by now," Medusa said, "I suppose it's time to send in my minions…"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Maka: I think we should go help Crona and Professor Stein.<em>**

**_Soul: Why?_**

**_Maka: Miss Elektra might be in trouble! And Crona really likes her, so we have to!_**

**_Soul: I'm fine with that as long as we don't run into his crazy mom again._**

**_Maka: We killed her remember? It'll be fine, so let's go!_**

* * *

><p><strong>Short chapter is short. I know, sue me. But it's a filler and I just really couldn't think of more to add before the climax. So yeah, sorry about that.<strong>

**In other news, my first _Hetalia _fic should be coming out soon, as will updates to my previous stories. Yay!**

**Um that's it for now I think. Thanks for the reviews! It means a lot so please keep leaving them! Until next time!**


	19. The Fight for Evar: A Hazy Past?

**OMG guys, I'm BACK. It's been _way _too long since I've updated and I honestly have no good excuse as to why other than writer's block. I said I'd be updating more and everything and then I just disappear. I know, I'm horrible :P But I'm crossing my fingers that I'm out of this creativity drought and will be updating more consistently.**

**So, last chapter I said there would be two climaxes and whatnot? Well I lied. But not in a bad way (at least I don't think). This _is _the climax, but it's not a typical one. I'll explain more at the end, so read to find out!**

Chapter 19

The chains seemed to have tightened around Heretsu's wrists, only making it more uncomfortable than it already was. He'd been watching Medusa and Kage toying with Evar's mind for what felt like days and was beginning to get sick of it.

At one point Medusa had allowed Evar to speak to her brother, though she just looked scared and confused so he gave up on trying to tell her how to escape.

Now he just hung limply on the wall, currently watching Evar brush Medusa's hair. There was a quiet hiss from the blonde that caused Heretsu to look up.

"They've come," she said.

In an instant she'd gotten to her feet, flinging Evar back and causing her to cry out in shock.

"Evar!" Heretsu cried.

Kage materialized beside him and gave his stomach a quick kick, shutting him up temporarily. Medusa began to drag a terrified Evar into the corner where the shadows would keep her hidden. Kage went to blindfold the hostage, making sure to stay unseen, as Medusa walked back into the light, a smirk growing on her face.

"Stein," she said coolly, "And you even brought Crona. How thoughtful."

"Where is she?" Stein demanded.

"Pardon?"

"Evar."

Heretsu could tell the scientist was doing everything he could to stay under control. If his madness overwhelmed him and there wasn't a weapon to channel it he could be in big trouble.

"Oh, _her,"_ Medusa sighed, "Who said she's even alive?"

No one could ever register how Stein got to Medusa so quickly, but the next thing the other knew was that Stein had attempted to land a blow. The witch was quick and managed to dodge, her smirk becoming wider.

"Now Stein, don't be hasty," she warned, "You're pretty used to feelings so don't let them overpower you."

"She's not dead," Heretsu said in a surprisingly calm voice.

Both Stein and Medusa looked over at him, the latter unpleased.

"Managed to capture Sparky, too," Stein huffed, "You're a relentless witch."

"I can't take the credit for that," Medusa replied, "My accomplice was the one who stuffed the cat in the bag."

Stein made a move for her, but Kage watched intently from the shadows. At the precise moment, she shoved Evar forward, the girl groaning as she landed at Medusa's feet.

The scientist suddenly seemed to be caught in slow-motion, his arm swinging at Medusa slowly as if it were under water. His eyes were fixed at her feet.

"Evar."

"Vector Plate."

The arrow appeared beneath Stein's feet, sending him flying backwards and into a wall.

"Professor Stein!" Crona called out.

At that, Evar lifted her head, her glassy eyes widening.

"Stein?" she breathed.

Medusa clenched her teeth and kicked the girl back down, knowing what power that word held over the prisoner.

It was then that Kage decided to make her grand entrance, in actuality simply stepping out from the shadows and beside Medusa.

"You might as well leave," she spat, "There's no way I'm letting my sister get the happily ever after this time."

Stein had been turning the screw his head and once the woman had finished her threat, it made a surprisingly loud clicking noise.

"Your sister?" he breathed.

He looked and saw that it was that woman – that woman who'd come and claimed she was looking for her sister. The white hair was hard to forget, though now there was a long black streak going down the middle of her braid, reminding him of a snake.

"Yes," Kage replied, "The _special _one. But not anymore."

The hatred in her eyes proved that she was not kidding around and made Stein realize just how deep in danger Evar was.

"Leave her alone!"

Stein's attention shifted as Crona charged at the two witches, beginning to bring Ragnarok down on them.

Kage thrust her hand out and what looked like a shadow escaped her palm, hitting Crona in the gut and sending him to the floor.

Evar looked at the injured boy a few feet in front of her and started to reach for him, a strange feeling to the child driving her to help him. But she was cut short as something came down on her head and everything around her went black.

* * *

><p>When she woke up, Evar found herself in what looked like a hospital room, several medical type things around the area and a clean, hygienic feel to the air.<p>

Her head was pounding and she began to sit up, only to realize that her chest was wrapped with bandages and she could hardly move.

What had actually happened? She couldn't remember anything… the last thing she could think of was grading papers when her body started to hurt. After that all she could think of was white.

"You're up."

Had she been able to, Evar would've leapt out of the bed, but her injuries restricted her to only gasping and flinching at the unexpected voice.

She craned her neck to the side – despite how tight her neck felt – and could see a familiar scientist sitting in a chair against the wall, his hair disheveled and lab-coat torn.

"Stein!" she breathed.

He got to his feet and went to stand beside her, carefully placing a hand on her stitched up forehead.

She struggled to lift her arm to touch him and was certainly surprised when he noticed and moved his hand from her forehead to her hand, wrapping around it gently.

"You probably don't remember anything," he said sadly.

She shook her head, wondering why he looked to be in such poor condition.

"Medusa had you," he said in a completely flat voice, "You and your brother. Crona and I went to get you… He and I got quite beat up but managed to get you and Heretsu out of there."

That had to be the first time Stein had ever called Heretsu by his real name, Evar thought.

"I… I'm sorry," she murmured, "Are you all okay?"

"We all made it out alive, that's what mattes," he said, "And we finally managed to defeat Medusa once and for all."

Evar sucked in a breath, ignoring the pain in her chest. They'd beaten her? But she'd been fought and "killed" multiple times… what if it had happened again?

"Crona did it," Stein answered, "I think he had to do it, to get rid of what had caused him so much misery. And yes, she's actually dead now – I watched Ragnarok eat her soul."

He didn't mention Kage at all. If she didn't remember anything, it was best stay that way. She didn't need to know what her sister had become. He, Heretsu and Crona had all sworn to secrecy and that they wouldn't tell her unless in dire circumstance.

"Crona killed a witch?" Evar asked suddenly, "I'm… I'm so proud of him."

It didn't matter that the witch had been his mother. She'd ruined his life and used him, never showing an ounce of love – she'd deserved to die. Evar was proud that Crona had been able to destroy the monster that had tortured him for so long.

"He's beat up like you," Stein informed her, "Though your injuries were from Medusa's extensive torture while you were her hostage… His were from the battle he had with his mother."

Evar shook his head, squeezing Stein's hand.

"No," she breathed, "No, not his mother. I'm his mother. That woman was a witch."

Stein was surprised by the sudden flood of emotion and sense of responsibility Evar emitted for the boy, but he still smiled. She'd always loved her students and Crona had a special place in her heart, just like she had one in his.

"And you're his father."

Evar had to suppress a giggle at the complete shock that illuminated Stein's face at the sentence, his eyes getting even bigger behind his spectacles.

He supposed it was true. Crona had become close to him since moving in with him and Evar, and even closer since he and Evar began to have a relationship. If Evar was his mother, it was only logical that he be the father.

His smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth, though he refused to let it get any bigger as he leaned down towards Evar.

"I love you," he breathed.

Evar didn't even hesitate in her response.

"I love you, too."

* * *

><p><strong>Blair: It's so cute! <em>Love!<em>**

**Heretsu: Even if the guy's a creep, he did save me, so I guess I'll have to deal with this. **

**Blair: Sparky, you know it's adorable! Be happy!**

**Heretsu: I'm not upset, I mean at least Evar's alive. But... he's just so _creepy!_**

* * *

><p><strong>Short chapter regrets being short. To explain this, I'll give you many reasons *coughexcusescough*. I didn't want to do a huge fight scene because of a couple things: 1 - I didn't want to copy the battle that took place in episode 45 because that's basically what it would have been. 2 - I'm not good at writing fight scenes anyway so I thought I'd save you some torture. 3 - Leaving it like that makes it more mysterious so I want you guys to come up with your own idea!<strong>

**As for the climax thing... It's because I've decided this fic is ending fairly soon. I know, I tell you it's got a lot left and then I'm about to end it. But don't worry! I've decided that instead of dragging this one on, I'm going to create a sequel. I've thought about it and I personally think it makes more sense than trying to stuff this one to death with filler after filler to get to good stuff. So don't hate me please? I'm not leaving it, I'm just _expanding _my horizons I guess.**

**That's all! Reviews are loved as are all of you! See you soon!**


	20. Back to Normality: Plans for the Future?

**OH GOD. It's... it's been waaaaaaaaaaaay too long since I've updated. I've been... I honestly don't know. There's been writer's block but I normally push through that. I don't know what's wrong with me. It's break and I thought I'd update every story and make you all happy and here's my first update in God knows how long.**

**Anyway, to probably most of your guys' surprise, this is the last chapter of this fic. Don't shoot me for it's shortness! There might be an epilogue, but I'm not sure. But the story doesn't end here, I promise! If that makes sense... oh just read it!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 20<p>

Despite their efforts to keep their relationship somewhat hidden, the news of Stein and Evar's romance spread all over the DWMA and there wasn't one person who didn't know about it.

Stein wasn't exactly comfortable with his romantic life being put out on display in such a fashion, but Evar would send people glares if they began to snicker, so at least any gossip that tried to surface immediately crumbled.

To practically everyone's surprise, the first thing Evar did upon returning home was to obtain and sign the papers to officially adopt Crona as her own. Of course she got the boy's permission first, but once that was confirmed she jumped at the chance. Now that Medusa was truly dead, the boy was in orphan and Evar couldn't bear to think of him without a family.

Perhaps the real shock of it all was that Stein agreed to join Evar in guardianship over the boy. Crona had been wary at first, but he remembered how he'd fought with Stein and that the scientist really did have a soft spot.

Of course the joint guardianship over the boy instantly sparked rumors of how intimate Stein's relationship with Evar was. Now that they were technically Crona's parents, that practically made them husband and wife.

Crona assured everyone that they weren't married or planning on it anytime soon, but students still wanted to pry and find out for sure.

It had been a few months since the incident with Medusa and things had settled down at the DWMA. There weren't any kishin revivals and there weren't any insane witches planning on taking over the world. That was about as normal as things got in Death City.

School had ended and Miss Elektra was organizing the homework the students had just turned in, sliding them in a folder so she wouldn't lose them.

She reached up and pushed some of her hair behind her ear as it fell in front of her face. After that horrible chopping she'd done, Evar had managed to grow her hair back somewhat so that it now managed to reach her shoulders. It was nothing like what she'd had before all this, with her glossy hair practically passing her butt. Perhaps it would get back there someday.

There was the sound of the door opening and closing quickly, Evar simply smiling to herself as she slipped her work into her bag.

She simply shook her head as the arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back slightly against the body that had snuck in here with her.

"You're so impatient," she huffed as she zipped up her bag.

"I'd think you'd know that by now," Stein replied matter-of-factly, earning an eye roll from his lover as she turned in his arms and pecked his forehead.

"I am quite aware of that. Now come on, I don't want Crona to think we left without him."

"He knows we wouldn't do that. You love that kid too much."

Evar just smiled as she swung her bag over her shoulder, taking Stein's hand in hers as they strolled out of her room. He'd never been very affectionate (that hug from behind had been quite a surprise) and even after all this time he wasn't exactly comfortable with public displays of affection, especially in their work environment.

But there was something different about it this time. There was a certain piece of jewelry on Evar's hand now, one that she'd only recently received. Stein did all he could to hide it, but now he was enjoying turning the ring around on her finger, reminding himself that it was actually there.

Funny to think how rumors could sometimes turn into reality.

"You know it's gonna have to come out eventually," Evar said as Stein continued to fiddle with her ring.

"I'd like to avoid that headache for as long as possible," he muttered.

Though most women would be beyond offended, Evar simply laughed. She knew that he was right – it _would _be a headache. All the students would be gossiping for months and Crona's friends would bug him to no end. She could only imagine how Spirit would react.

As of now, the only people who knew about Evar's ring were Crona and Heretsu. The former had been shocked, thrilled and terrified all at the same time. He'd stopped talking about the rumors kids asked him and shied away from everyone except his closest friends.

Heretsu had thrown a bit of a fit at the news, complaining that Evar was going to go insane. Eventually he calmed down and congratulated them, even patting Stein on the back. The guy was a nut job but he had saved his life, as well as Evar's.

The two of them met up with Crona, who was talking to Maka, Kid, Black*Star and all their weapons. These were his dearest friends and would most likely be the first to know about Stein and Evar. Patty squeezed him goodbye (the girl adored him more than any other) and the other waved the family off as they headed home.

It really was quite a cute scene, Stein and Evar's hands locked as the woman wrapped an arm around Crona, pulling him to her. They did seem like a big happy family.

Meanwhile, perched on top of the DWMA building, a certain witch was watching the group in disgust, her gray eyes filled with fire. There was no way this was over.

"Mom!" Crona gasped suddenly.

Stein and Evar looked over at the boy questioningly. The boy wasn't exactly comfortable with referring to Stein as his father, so he usually just addressed the both of them with one word.

"What is it?" Evar asked.

His face turned innocent and he gave a sheepish smile.

"Today at lunch," he said quickly, "We were talking about what we'd name our kids if we ever had any."

Evar smiled in approval. She was glad things were becoming so normal for Crona – there'd been enough craziness in his life.

"Oh?" she replied, "What'd you say?"

"I-I-I didn't know," the boy stammered, "But I wanted to ask you and Professor Stein."

Evar's eyebrows went up and she turned to the scientist. He simply shrugged in response.

How typical, she thought.

"Me?" she asked as she looked back at Crona.

The boy nodded shyly, looking at her with anticipation.

"That's easy," she replied, "I'd name them Shilo."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Heretsu: It's all so beautiful!<strong>_

_**Evar: Sparky... are you crying?**_

_**Heretsu: No! Shut up! My eyes are just leaking!**_

_**Evar: Keep telling yourself that...**_

* * *

><p><strong>Dun dun dun! That's it (sorta)! Woo! How'd you like it? I know it ends off as randomly as possible but that's because...<strong>

**THERE'S GONNA BE A SEQUEL!**

**Yeah, I think I've mentioned that before, but now it's official. If you can tell where I'm going with it by that ending, then high five for you! It's a little random but I think I'm gonna have a lot of fun with it. It'll be weird, OC-ish and intense if I write it properly. I don't know if it's going to be as long as this one or if it'll be even longer (I just have the basic idea as of now) but it won't be a one-shot or anything, I promise.**

**Sooooooo yeah that's it! Wow, sad to see this end, even though it's not over. Like I said, might see an epilogue but you might just have to wait for the sequel. If you liked this then please review and tell me what you thought of the story! And if you're ready for the sequel let me know so I can get to work on that as soon as I can! Until next time!**

**Meow~**


	21. Want to Read the Sequel?

**Hey guys, JakeTheCat here just letting you know that I put the sequel up for this story! It's called _Staples _and you can find it on my profile page. (Creative title, huh?) Just thought I'd post this here because some of you aren't subscribed to me and won't get alerted if I post it, so I figured this would help all you awesome people who read this fic!**


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